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OBUtKVtn 




AUGUST 1988 


BIGGEST AND BEST-SELLING BBC/ACORN MAGAZINE 


ADVENTURES 

Adecade of frustration Plus Warlord on disc 


DATA DISPLAY: 


Graphs and charts 
from spreadsheets 

SCIENCE WRITERS: 
Wordprocessorsfor 
technical texts 

DESIGNER PCB: 

On the right track 
with Pineapple 

CLEVER COLOUR: 
Four ribbons 
dump in style 

PRINTER SURVEY: 
Move up to 24-pin 
for better results 


ONLY £1.30 
Still the best value 





PRESENT DAY REPTON 


PREHISTORIC REPTON 


FUTURE REPTON 


VICTORIAN REPTON 


f 1 

EGYPTIAN REPTON 






REPTON - THE TIME TRAVELLER 

Where did Repton come from? Does he have an Egyptian mummy? Is he the real Jack the Repper? Where is he now? Where is he going to?! 

We have been inundated with these and many other questions about our lovable hero. Now all is revealed in 40 new screens that vividly reveal 
Repton’s evolution from prehistory to the future. 

The PREHISTORIC screens with their caves, mountains and volcanoes, have Repton battling against pterodactyls and dinosaurs to collect edible 
berries. In EGYPTIAN times, Repton chases around pyramids and sphinxes collecting scrolls and meeting a mummy or two! Amidst the smog and 
grime of VICTORIAN times, Repton collects gold coins - but can he avoid the police and the gallows? PRESENT DAY Repton has even greater 
dangers to face as he rushes around the city’s jungle of parking meters and skyscrapers, looking for cans of cola. If the gangster’s machine gun 
doesn’t get him, the traffic wardens will. Amazingly Repton may make it to the FUTURE. As he zooms through space collecting crystals, the Martians 
give chase. Will he succeed or disappear forever into the infinite depths of a black hole? Only you can help Repton Thru Time! 



( Each copy of Repton Thru Time Includes: 

1 • the Repton 3 main program •the Repton 3 editor and •the 40 new game screens 

BBC Micro Cassette £6.95 Acorn Electron Cassette £6.95 

BBC Micro 5V4" Disc £7.95 BBC Master Compact 3 V 2 " Disc..£9.95 

(Compatible with the BBC B, B+ and Master Series computers). 

The screen pictures show the BBC Micro version of the game 



PRIZE COMPETITION 

If you complete all 40 screens of Repton Thru Time without 
using passwords, you can enter our competition. A draw 
will be made from all the correct entries received to select 
25 prize winners Each will receive an EGYPTIAN REPTON 
Cuddly Toy and a signed certificate. 

Closing date: 30th September, 1988. 



REPTON ORIGINAL 
Cuddly Toy 



supcmon 

somunnc 


Limited 


ACORNSeFT 


Please make 
all cheques 
payable lo 
"Superior 
Software Ud" 


SPECIALOFFER-NEW! 

A unique range of Repton Cuddly Toys is now available. Each Cuddly Toy is I 
about 24 inches high and has a realistic face and features corresponding F 
to the particular Repton character. They are only available from Superior 

Software REPTON ORIGINAL £9.95 

ARCTIC REPTON £9.95 
TEENAGE REPTON £9.95 
Postage and packing free. 



24 HOUR TELEPHONE 
ANSWERING SERVICE FOR ORDERS 


OUR GUARANTEE 

• All mail orders are despatched 
within 24 hours by first-class post. 

• Postage and packing is free. 

• Faulty cassettes and discs will 
be replaced immediately. 

{This does not affect your statutory fights) 


Dept. RT4, Regent House, Skinner Lane Leeds LS7 1AX. Telephone: 0532 459453. 









ADVENT XT10 

• 30 Megabyte Hard Disk 

• 3B0K 5 V 4 " Floppy Disk 

• 640K Memory 

• 10 MHz CPU 

• Parallel Port 

• Serial Port 

• 8 Expansion Slots 

• Hercules High Resolution 
Display Card 

• High Resolution Mono 
Monitor 

• MS DOS 3.21 + GW Basic 

• Real Time Battery Backed 
Clock/Calendar 

FREE 1 year on site 
maintainence 

£795 


WITH EGA COLOUR MONITOR + CARD 

£995 


WITH EGA COLOUR MONITOR 4 CARD 

£1449 


»yOUAGC 

Landon&Earaest Computer Shop 


ADVENT AT12+ 

• 40 MB Hard Disk 

• 1.2 MB 5V4" Floppy Disk 

• 1 MB Memory 

• 12 MHz CPU 

• 2 x Parallel Ports 

• 2 x Serial Ports 

• 102 Key Enhanced AT Keyb/d 

• 8 Expansion Slots 

• Hercules High Resolution 
Display Card 

• High Res. Mono Monitor 

• MS DOS 3.3 + GW Basic 

• Real Time Battery Backed 
Clock/Calendar 

FREE 1 year on site 
maintainence 

£1249 


ADVENT XT 15 TURBO 

Incredible 1 5MHz processor speed + 1 MB of RAM. 
Other specifications as per Advent XT 10. 

With 14" Amber FST Mono Monitor 


With 14" EGA Colour Monitor 


£1195 


PRINTER RIBBONS 


ACORN 

2 + 

6 + 

12 + 

AP80 

£2.40 

£2.20 

£1.90 

API 00 

£2 40 

£2.20 

£1.90 

AMSTRAD 




8256/851 2/LQ3500 MS 

£4.00 

£3.80 

£3.60 

8256/851 2/LQ3500 FA 

£3.30 

£3.10 

£3.25 

8256/851 2/LQ3500 Blue 

£4,25 

£3.95 

£3.75 

8256/851 2/LQ3500 Red 

£4.25 

£3.95 

£3.75 

DMP 2000/3000/ 




3160/3250 

£2.40 

£2.20 

£2.00 

DMP 4000 

£3.85 

£3.70 

£3.40 

PCW9512 MS 

£320 

£3.00 

£2.60 

PCW9512FA 

£3.70 

£3.30 

£2.90 

ANADEX 




9500 

£500 

£445 

£4.35 

BROTHER 




HR5 

£300 

£2.80 

£2.60 

HR1 5/20/25/3 5/40 MS 

£2.80 

£265 

£2.30 

HR1 5/20/25/35/40 FA 

£3.10 

£2.70 

£2.40 

HR1 5/20/25/35/40 CO 

£1.70 

£1.60 

£1.50 

Ml 009/Ml 109/Ml 209 

£3.10 

£2.70 

£2.50 

Ml 409 

£4.25 

£4.05 

£3.80 

Ml 509/1 709 

£4.70 

£4.00 

£4.25 

EP44 

£2.90 

£2.50 

£2.30 

C. ITOH 8510 

£3.55 

£3.35 

£3.10 

CANON 




PW1 080/1 156 

£2.50 

£2.40 

£2.20 

PW1 080/1 156 Blue 

£3.40 

£3.30 

£3.20 

PW1 080/1 156 Red 

£340 

£3.30 

£3.20 

CENTRONICS 




GIP 1/2 

£3.10 

£2.70 

£2.50 

CITIZEN 




1200/ISP10 

£3.25 

£3.10 

£2.90 


ISP 100 

MSP10E/40/50 
MSP10E/40/50 Blue 
MSP1 0E/40/50 Rod 
MSP15E/25/45/55 
PREMIERE 35 MS 
PREMIERE 35 FA 
COMMODORE 
MPS 801 
MPS 802 MS 
MPS 802 FA 
MPS 803 
MPS 1000 
DPS 1101 MS 
DPS 11 01 CO 
DPS 1101 SS 
1516/1521/1526/ 
4023 MS 
1516/1521/1526/ 
4023 FA 
DAISYSTEP 
2000 MS 


HYTYPE II FA 
HYTYPE II MS 

EPSON 

LX800/FX800 FA 
LX800/FX800 Blue 
LX800/FX800 Red 
MX/FX/RX 80 FA 
MX/FX/RX 80 Blue 
MX/FX/RX 80 Red 
FX105/FX1000 
MX/FX/RX 100 


2 + 

6 + 

12 + 

£3.25 

£3.10 

£2.90 

£2.50 

£2.10 

£1.90 

£3.70 

£3 00 

£2.80 

£3.70 

£3.00 

£2.80 

£3.30 

£3.10 

£2.80 

£2.40 

£2.25 

£2.05 

£2.75 

£2.80 

£2.60 

£2.30 

£2.15 

£2.05 

£3.50 

£2.70 

£2.50 

£4.50 

£4.30 

£4.00 

£3.10 

£2.70 

£2.50 

£2.35 

£2.10 

£1.90 

£2.40 

£2.30 

£2.10 

£1.60 

£1.30 

£1.20 

£2.20 

£1.70 

£1.55 

£3.50 

£2.70 

£2.50 

£4.50 

£4.30 

£4.00 

£2.60 

£2.40 

£2.20 

£2.90 

£2.80 

£2.60 

£2.75 

£2.65 

£2.45 

£2.35 

£2.25 

£2.05 

£2.50 

£2.10 

£1.90 

£3.70 

£3.00 

£2.80 

£3.70 

£3.00 

£2.80 

£2.50 

£2.10 

£1.90 

£3.70 

£3.00 

£2.80 

£3.70 

£3.00 

£2.80 

£330 

£3.10 

£2.80 

£3.30 

£3.10 

£2.80 


IQ 1500 

LQ500/IQ800/IQ850 

IQ1000/IQ1050 

IQ2500/IQ2500+ 

LX80/86/GX80 

EX800/EX1000 

SQ2500 

PROPRINT XL 
PROPRINT 4201 
JUKI 
6100 SS 
6100 MS 
6100 CO 

6200/6300/6500 FA 
6200/6300/6500 MS 
2200/6000 CO 


KAGA 

KP 810/910 
KP 810/910 Bluo 
KP 810/910 Red 
MICRO P. 

MP1 35/480 FA 
MP1 35/480 MS 
MP1 65/200 
MPI 65/200 Blue 
MPI 6 5/200 Red 
MP40/26 FA 
MP40/26 MS 
M/TALLY 
MT80MS 
MT80 FA 
MT85 FA 


ADVENT AT 20/26 

20MHz clock speed. Neat 286. Faster than a 3B6/16 (Landmark 
speed test 26.7 MHz). Other specifications as Advent AT 12+ . 

With 14" Amber FST Mono Monitor £1595 
With 14" EGA Colour Monitor £1895 


2 + 

6 + 

12+ 


2 + 

6+ 

12 + 


2+ 

6+ 

12 + 

£2.85 

£2.70 

£2.50 

NEC 




GP80 

£2.40 

£2.20 

£1.90 

£3.25 

£305 

£2.80 

Pl/2/6 

£3.90 

£3.60 

£3.20 

GP10Q/250 

£2.40 

£2.20 

£1.90 

£380 

£360 

£335 

P3/7 

£5.10 

£4.90 

£4.60 

GP50Q/550 

£2.30 

£2.15 

£205 

£5.95 

£5.75 

£555 

P5/P5XL/P9XL 

£4.70 

£4.40 

£4.10 

BP5420 

£7.95 

£7.75 

£755 

£2.35 

£2.10 

£1.90 

5500/7700 FA 

£3.65 

£3.50 

£3.30 

GP700 Block 

£12.00 eoch 


£4.70 

£4.40 

£400 

5500/7700 MS 

£2.65 

£2.50 

£2.30 

GP700 Colour 

£16 00 eoch 


£23.50 eoch 


3500 FA 

£3.60 

£3.40 

£3.20 

SHINWA 







3500 MS 

£2.70 

£2.55 

£2.35 

CP80MS 

£3.50 

£2.70 

£2.50 

£8.45 

£8.1 5 

£7.95 

P2200 

£5.90 

£5.70 

£5.50 

CP80FA 

£4.50 

£4.30 

£4 00 

£4.10 

£3.85 

£3.55 

OKI 




SMITH CORONA 







80/82 

£1.20 

£0.90 

£0.80 

D100/D200 

£4.60 

£4.20 

£3.70 

£1.75 

£1.60 

£1.50 

182/183/192/193 

£2.75 

£2.55 

£2.40 

D300 

£2.50 

£2.40 

£2.15 

£2.40 

£2.30 

£2.20 

OKIMATE 20 Block 

£6.60 

£6.20 

£6.00 

EU000/TPI FA 

£5.70 

£5.25 

£4.95 

£1.60 

£1.30 

£1.20 

OKIMAIE 20 Colour 

£7.00 

£6.50 

£6.20 

EL1000/TP1 CO 

£5.00 

£4.70 

£4.50 

£2.75 

£2.65 

£2.45 

PANASONIC 




EL1000/TPI MS 

£12.50 £10.70 

£9.95 

£2.35 

£2.25 

£2.05 

KXP 1080/1/2/3 

£3.95 

£3.80 

£3.60 

Faifexl 80 

£11.70 £11.20 £10.90 

£2.90 

£2.50 

£2.30 

KXP 1592/1 595 

£3.95 

£3.80 

£3.60 

SILVER REED 




£2.50 

£2.10 

£1.90 

3131/3151 MS 

£2.35 

£2.25 

£2.05 

EXP400/ 500/550 FA 

£3.95 

£3.85 

£3.65 

£3.70 

£3.00 

£2.80 

3131/3151 FA 

£2.75 

£2.65 

£2.45 

EXP400/ 500/550 MS 

£3.00 

£2.85 

£2.65 




QUENDATA 




EX P4 00/ 500/ 5 50 CO 

£2.80 

£2.60 

£2.40 

£2.50 

£2.40 

£2.20 

1120 MS 

£2.60 

£2.40 

£2.20 

STAR 




£3.40 

£330 

£3.20 

1120 FA 

£2.90 

£2.80 

£2.60 

510/DP510/DP5I5 

£1.20 

£0.90 

£0.80 

£3.40 

£330 

£3.20 

QUME 




GEMINI IX/SG10/SG1 5 

£1.20 

£0.90 

£0.80 




Sprint 7/9 MS 

£2.60 

£2.40 

£2.20 

LC10 

£3.90 

£3.70 

£3.50 

£4.50 

£4.30 

£4.00 

Sprint 7/9 FA 

£2.90 

£2.80 

£2.60 

NllO/NDJO/NRIO 

£4.50 

£4.25 

£400 

£3.50 

£2.70 

£2.50 

IV MS 

£2.60 

£2.40 

£2.20 

NB24-10 

£6.50 

£6.20 

£6.00 

£2.50 

£2.10 

£1.90 

IV FA 

£2.90 

£2.80 

£2.60 

NB24-15/NB-15 

£7.00 

£6.80 

£6.60 

£3.70 

£3.00 

£2.80 

RITEMAN INFORUNNER 

£6.50 

£6.30 

£6.10 

NX15/ND15/NR15 

£7.00 

£6.80 

£6.60 

£3.70 

£3.00 

£2.80 

RICOH 1300/1 600 MS 

£2.50 

£2.40 

£2.20 

RADIX 10 

£4.70 

£4.30 

£4.10 

£2.75 

£2.65 

£2.45 

SEIKOSHA 




RADIX 15 

£4.70 

£4.30 

£4.10 

£2.35 

£2.25 

£2.05 

SP800/SP1 000 MS 

£4.00 

£3.80 

£3.60 

PCWERTYPE MS 

£2.35 

£2.25 

£2.05 




SP800/SP1000 FA 

£3.30 

£3.10 

£3.25 

POWERTYPE FA 

£2.75 

£2.65 

£2.45 

£3.50 

£2.70 

£2.50 

SP800/SP1 000 Blue 

£4.25 

£3.95 

£3.75 

UCHIDA 




£4.50 

£430 

£400 

SP800/SP1000 Red 

£4.25 

£3.95 

£3.75 

DWP/DWX305 FA 

£2.90 

£2.80 

£2.60 

£420 

£400 

£3.80 

GP50 

£580 

£5.50 

£5.30 

DWP/DWX305 MS 

£2.60 

£2.40 

£2.20 


Official orders welcomed from PLC’s 
government and educational establishments 


ALL PRICES EXCLUDE VAT 


OPEN MON-SAT 9AM-6PM 



53-59 High Street, Croydon, Surrey CRO 1QD. 
Fax: 01-681 8939. Tel: 01-681 3022 

Prices correct at copy date. Subject to change without 
notice due to currency fluctuations etc. E. & 0. E. 


Mail Order + Export Hot Line Phone 01-686 6362 

printer ribbons £1.00 -fVATp + p. Hardware delivery by Securicor £15.00 +VAT p+p. 

Send off or order by 'phone quoting your Access, Visa No. 'Phone 01-686 6362. Immediate 
despatch on receipt of order or cheque clearance. Or Telex your order on: 946240 Attn 1 900 1 335. 

EXPORT CUSTOMERS SUPPLIED TAX FREE. 


To: Hi Voltage, 53-59 High Street. Croydon, Surrey CRO 1QD 
I wish to order 


I enclose cheque/PO for £ inc VAT 

or charge my Access/Visa No: Exp. date. 


I I I I I I I I I I I I I 

Name Signature. 

Address 


Postcode Tel No. 



Ac.U8/88 






PIPEDREAM 


POWER 
AT YOUR 
FINGERTIPS 


And database and spreadsheet functions can 
work together. 

You can use PipeDream as a database program to 
maintain your address book or sales ledger. 
Perform selections and sorts to invoice 5l of those 
customers living in London who have bought 
more than 100 products from you since 
February but haven't paid within 30 days. 

The price of all this power? Just £99+ VAT. 


New facilities include: 

• user-definable colour displays 

• a comprehensive range of financial functions 

• full usage of foreign characters including direct 
editing and printing 

• loading and saving in several formats giving 
compatibility with Lotus 1-2-3 

• linking files enabling you to pass the results of 
calculations between spreadsheets. 


This in addition to all the facilities many 
thousands of Z88 PipeDream users have come to 
expect: 

• fully Wysiwyg display 

(what you see is what you get) 

• many columns of formatted text on screen 


With Archimedes, you have a breakthrough in 
personal computing power. Enough power for 
the next breakthrough in integrated software - 
PipeDream. 


With existing integrated packages, you have to 
divide your work into artificial sections, such as 
text, numbers and calculation, and database. 



With PipeDream, you compose your work in the 
order you want to print it, with text and numbers 
all together in one document. Incorporate 
calculations directly into paragraphs of text and 
formatted paragraphs directly into spreadsheets. 


With this new approach you get a whole new 
dimension of power . . . 


PipeDream is a word processor offering many 
columns of formatted text. That film script you 
were going to write next holiday? Ideal. 

PipeDream is a spreadsheet program with a 
work area of 500,000,000 columns by over 
500,000,000 rows, so you'll grow out of your 
computer before you grow out of PipeDream. 

And being able to mix numbers and text together 
means you can calculate invoices and mail-shot 
them without resorting to expensive accounting 
software. 


In fact, PipeDream's unique integration means 
that mail-shots couldn't be easier. 


But don't just take our word for it. This is what 
Michael Bywater of Punch had to say: 

" PipeDream itself is a remarkable achievement 
It offers a spreadsheet , a word processor and a 
database, and if you think I am talking about a 
conventional integrated program, you are wrong. 
PipeDream does all those things within one 
program. No switching between modules or 
cutting and pasting; PipeDream simply offers you 
a matrix of slots' into which you can either type 
continuous text or figures or formulae or 
database ' fields' . " 

That was PipeDream on the Z88. 

Now we've completely rewritten it for 
Archimedes. The result is even friendlier, faster 
and more powerful. There are full menus and 
dialogue boxes, making the most complex 
operations easy to carry out. You'll probably 
never even need to look at the comprehensive 
PipeDream tutorial and reference book. And 
keyboard wizards will love the optimised 
keystroke alternatives to the menus. Some will 
even devise their own key layouts, using 
PipeDream's unique keyboard programmability. 

We've maintained 100% file and keystroke 
compatibility with Z88 PipeDream, so you can 
transfer files between the Z88 and your 
Archimedes. 


PipeDream is also 100% file compatible with 
PipeDream on the IBM PC, and Acornsoft's VIEW 
PROFESSIONAL for the BBC Microcomputer, 
so you could work at home on your BBc 
Microcomputer and take your riles to the office 
on your Z88, to use on your Archimedes or IBM 
PC. No other software enables you to share your 
files with all these computers. 


• full spreadsheet power includes dates 

• live calculations within formatted text 

• flexible printing of special highlights such as 
underlining and bold text 

• documents consisting of many separate files. 



POWER 
AT YOUR 
FINGERTIPS 



For more information or to order PipeDream cut 
out the coupon or phone us on 0954 211472 

In most cases orders will be despatched the same 
day, but please allow 28 days for delivery. 


i 1 

Please send me more information on PipeDream □ 

Please send me PipeDream packs 

Retail price £99.00 £ 

VAT £14.85 £ 

Postage UK Free 

Postage overseas £10.00 £ | 

TOTAL £ - 

Please tick box. Acorn Archimedes 3 y /i” disk □ MS-DOS 5V4* disk □ MS-DOS 3 V 2 " diskQ 

Payment SCVisaQ E3 Access □ Cheque □ 

Credit card number I I II I | | | | | | I I | | | | 

Credit card expiry date 

Name (as on credit card) ■ 

Address : . ■ 


Simply type in your letter or invoice, leaving gaps 
for names, addresses and payment dates, men 
PipeDream will print the letter to each addressee, 
automatically inserting all the details, and 
keeping the text neatly formatted and aligned. 


Postcode. 


Send to Colton Software, Broadway House, 149—151 St. Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambridge CB3 7QJ AU/8/88 

I 

PipeDream is a trademark of Colton Software Limited. Archimedes is a trademark of Acorn Computers Limited. 

IBM and PC are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft. 

Lotus 1 -2-3 is a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. Z88 is a trademark of Cambridge Computer Limited. 







ACORNUSER 


ISSUE No 73 AUGUST 1988 


COVER 


NEWS 


REVIEWS 


REGULARS 


COVER FEATURE 

Adventures to the fore - 
first of a series on page 64 
Illustration by Gary Powell 


EDITORIAL 


T he Arc’s first year 

passes with this issue, 
and it has now 

attracted some good software. 
First Word Plus is an excellent 
character-based 
wordprocessor, System Delta 
Plus a fine database manager, 
and Artisan, Logo and the PC 
Emulator stand out. 

Good software is a rare 
commodity: innovative 
packages don’t appear very 
often. There has been, over 
the last five years, a great deal 
of innovation in BBC 
software, and the best 
available is very good. In this 
issue we review two clear 
winners: Sc/, and Pine- 
apple’s PCB design package. 

But there are a host of 
other authors writing Arc 
programs that are no real 
advance on model B software. 
Faster, using more memory 
maybe, but not that different. 
The question is, can former 
8-bit software houses grow up 
with the Arc, become more 
professional, yet keep their 
innovative streak? 


ARC PRICES RISE 7 

New Micron et charges; Arc 
music progress; typesetting on 
a BBC micro 


C0MMS COLUMN 

11 

EDUCATION NEWS 

15 

N0TICEB0ARD 

17 

READER SERVICE 

17 

COMPETITION RESULTS 17 

BLUNDERBOX 

17 

FEATURES 


JOE'S JOTTINGS 55 

Easy-to-understand graphs and 
charts can be drawn from 
complex-looking numbers on a 
spreadsheet 


BE ADVENTUROUS 64 

Peter Vokc describes the his- 
tory of adventuring, and intro- 
duces Warlord , the fiendish 
adventure on our monthly disc 

COLOUR BY NUMBERS 72 

Dump your graphics screens in 
colour using coloured ribbons 
in your dot-matrix printer, says 
Muriel Dearlovc 


MICRO AS ALLY 75 

Schools need clear advice on 
introducing new technology. 
Here’s some words from ex- 
perienced teachers 


GAMES PAGE 103 

Sam Green hi 11 with the latest 
news on games, plus what 
makes a game the best? 
Graphics, sound, novelty or 
just plain addictiveness? 

GAMES REVIEWS 105 

Can Mandarin’s Icarus or Su- 
perior’s Barbarian excite; can 
Haylcy’s Stranded adventure 
intrigue? 


TECHNICAL TEXTS 106 

Martin Phillips examines two 
specialist wordproccssors lor 
scientific and foreign language 
use. One is a clear winner 

BETTER BY OESIGN 109 

Pineapple’s printed circuit 
board design and auto-routing 
program is checked out by 
Malcolm Brown 

MOVE UP TO 24-PIN 112 

The latest units are all a cut 
above the old 9-pin printers; 
how do four new models from 
Toshiba, NEC, Panasonic and 
Citizen measure up? 


EDUCATION 


HINTS & TIPS 41 

Press a button to print out the 
screen, upgrade screen dumps 
on an NEC 24-pin printer, plus 
fast maths and how to cope 
with disc copying. David 
Atherton presides 


ARC AGORA 48 

David Acton describes writing 
a relocatable module to save 
and load compacted screens 
plus printing a directory tree 
and using events 


REPTON COMPETITION 71 

Win a unique cuddly Repton 


NEWS 15 

Tests on 32-bit hardware; new 
teachers’ conference 

FEATURE 75 

Chris Dragc and Nick Evans 
discuss the introduction of in- 
formation technology into 
schools and offer advice based 
on their experience 

NETWORKS 120 

Give every Econct station in 
the school access to the Ceefax 
and Oracle services 


DESIGN CLINIC 119 

Tony Quinn kicks off a new 
regular look at DTP 

Bl 

BA airliner- in drama at o.OOO feet 

JETS MISS 
DISASTER 
BY YARDS 


Hurd pledges 
more police 
to fight 
crime war in 
the shires 


NETWORK PAGE 12 

Alistair Shimmin explains how 
to install an Econct teletext ser 
ver, and introduces a new pro 
tocol for resource servers 


YELLOW PAGES 


LETTERS 


ADVERTISERS JNDEX 134 

FREE ADS 135 


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on Sigrnasbeet and the conclu 
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Assistant Tcri North. Art Editor Liz Thompson. Assistant Art Editor Paul Holmes. Ad Sales Controller Seamus Gcoghegan. Sales Executives Gregg l.orcn/ - A ndree. ( iautam 
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ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 






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and get to grips with 
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MASTER 

OPERATING SYSTEM 

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A guide to the Master 
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This excellent book from Acorn expert David Atherton, is the 
definitive reference work for programmers of the BBC model 
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It covers all features of the Acorn MOS including 65C12 
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ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 





MULTI-USER GAME 


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Accessible in either viewdata or scrolling 
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Is players are free to roam anywhere, 
I this enthralling game takes you on 
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For users of the BBC Micro, 
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For Archimedes 
users 


Subscribe to BEEBUG or RISC User and not only will you receive an informative 
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But you will also benefit from: 

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A swift mail order service for all your hardware and software needs at competitive 
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The magazine is now in its sixth 
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Its proven format has been 
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Each issue of BEEBUG provides 
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This is the magazine for everyone 
interested in Acorn’s RISC computer, 
the Archimedes. Launched at the 
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provides lively and informed coverage 
of what’s happening in the world of 
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Reviews, hints, programs and articles 
are all specifically written for 
Archimedes, showing how to exploit 
the many features of this sophisticated 
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I EWS 


Trade wars hit 
micro prices 


Oak turns 
to design 

A computer-aided design pack- 
age for the Archimedes is the 
irst of a series of ‘professional* 
software from Oak Computers. 

The £295 program claims to 
be unique in that it uses a 
parametric system. Most CAD 
programs understand drawings 
as sets of co-ordinates. 

Oak’s Parametric Design 
Tool understands them in 
terms of the relationships be- 
tween components. This has 
advantages when it comes to 
redrawing or deleting areas, 
says Oak’s David Driscoll. 

The company already custo- 
mises Archimedes hardware for 
its clients and is planning to 
build its own machine around 
the ARM chip set. 

Easy addition 

Many electronics buffs have ex- 
perience in creating their own 
hardware add-ons. But adding 
to the Arc is more difficult, 
requiring expensive interface 
expansion cards. 

Atomwide has produced a 
prototyping expansion card, to 
which users can attach their 
own chips and develop the 
hardware they need. 

Two versions are available, a 
blank printed circuit board for 
£17.25 and a board containing 
interfacing chips at £40.25. 


Official tests on the various 
micros fighting to be used in 
schools are being undertaken 
by the National Council for 
Eductional Technology. The 
council will check software 
compatibility by testing the 
machines* ability to run com- 
mon classroom packages. 

Last year’s policy statement 


By Carol Atack 
Acorn has raised the cost of 
two Archimedes models and 
many of the add-on cards. The 
310 and 440 now cost £1211 
and £3159 (including VAT), 
with the colour displays neces- 
sary to exploit the machine’s 
graphics. This is an average 
eight per cent increase. 

Dealer Jay Mehta, of Tech- 
nomatic, said, T expected 
Acorn to increase its prices in 
April. Other companies have 
put prices up because of the 
memory problem.’ 

The fast dynamic RAM chips 
the Archimedes and other adv- 


The first Acorn product to be 
bought by Olivetti is a laser 
printer controller for IBM PCs, 
and Olivetti has ordered £0.5m 
worth of them. 

The card is powered by the 
ARM chip and could allow 
PostScript-based desktop pub- 
lishing software to be used with 
cheap non-PostScript laser 


on micros, New Technology 
for Better Schools , stressed two 
points for hardware buying - 
flexibility and compatibility. 

The report summarised the 
capabilities of 19 machines 
ranging from the Master to 
Torch Triple-X running Unix. 
The council will test the com- 
patibility claimed for the 



Page: ‘reluctant’ Jessa: ‘backfire’ 


anced computers use have be- 
come more expensive. This has 
been blamed on American pro- 
tectionist laws stemming the 
flow of cheap Japanese compo- 
nents and resulting in a world- 
wide memory chip famine. 

Amstrad and Atari raised 


printers. The Acorn card, 
known as a raster image pro- 
cessor, could let even the dum- 
best laser printers understand 
PostScript or other page de- 
scription languages. 

But the card contains no 
software. It is up to buyers like 
Olivetti to supply a PostScript 
interpreter. 


Macintosh, RM Nimbus, and 
Acorn’s Archimedes. It will 
concentrate on the newer 16- 
and 32-bit micros. 

BBC Basic is available on 
most micros, and will no doubt 
be part of the study. Another 
element considered will be abil- 
ity to swap files through direct 
links and networks. 


prices several months ago and 
blamed the chip famine, but 
Acorn was reluctant to point 
the finger at any one factor for 
the price rises. Spokesman 
Michael Page said, The shor- 
tage of chips is a factor, but not 
the only one. There has been 
no price change on these 
machines for nine months and 
there are several things which 
have affected us.’ 

Other increases are the 
0.5Mb memory upgrade for the 
305, now £171.35, and the 
20Mb hard disc and controller, 
now £573.85. The input/output 
expansion card will cost £97.75. 
The less powerful Master series 
and Archimedes model 305 re- 
main at the same price. 

There will be plenty more 
price rises throughout the com- 
puter industry as American and 
EEC protectionist legislation 
takes effect. Japanese printers 
are the first to be affected with 
the EEC imposing punitive 
levies on machines manufac- 
tured outside its boundaries. 

Technomatic is holding the 
increase on the printers they 
sell to six per cent, although 
Mehta expects this to change as 
the manufacturers run out o 
pre-levy stocks. 

Nazir Jessa of Watford Elec- 
tronics who sells a wide range 
of Japanese printers, is unim- 
pressed by Europe’s reasoning. 
The whole thing will backfire 
because British and American 
manufacturers cannot produce 
these printers at the price or 
quality. I just hope that they 
will reconsider it.’ 


School hardware on trial 


Olivetti buys RISC card 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


7 



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OFFER ONLY £189 inclusive 

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THIS SPECIAL OFFER IS ONLY TO READERS OF 
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TEL: 0308 27691 


Archimedes 


DESKTOP ENHANCER 


This enhancement of the Acorn Archimedes DESKTOP 
provides a consistent working environment, incorporating 
the following additions: 

New Desktop features 

return to Desktop after running programs - save/restore 
DeskTop setup and colour palette - full path names as 
window titles. 

Disk Management 

display free space - find a file anywhere on disc - change 
disc name - compact or verify disc - copy floppy disc 
- backup hard disc to floppies. 

File Handling 

change file time stamp, access and type - print file to 
screen or printer - set user root, current and library 
directories. 

Access to programs 

run Basic and execute EXEC files (’commands) - clear 
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Display Directory map of a disc - go to subdirectory - 
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Telephone: (091) 487 0760 



Archimedes Computer Systems 

Archimedes 305 £699.00 

Archimedes 305 Mono System £749.00 

Archimedes 305 Colour System £899.00 

Archimedes 310 £835.00 

Archimedes 310 Mono System £895.00 

Archimedes 310 Colour System £975.00 

Archimedes 410 £1399.00 

Archimedes 410 Mono System £1499.00 

Archimedes 410 Colour System £1599.00 

Archimedes 440 £2529.00 

Archimedes 440 Mono System £2589.00 

Archimedes 440 Colour System £2749.00 

Archimedes Podules /Upgrades 

0.5Mb RAM (Archimedes 305 only) £149.00 

Floppy Disc £125.00 

20Mb Hard Disc+Podule (300 Series) £499.00 

Podule Backplane £39.00 

Archimedes/Master Econet Module £40.00 

5V4" Floppy Drive Module £24.00 


Master Series 

Master 128 £365.00 

Master Turbo Module £95.00 

Master Eprom Cartridge £1 1 .00 

Master Compact Series 
Master Compact Entry System £349.00 

Master Compact TV System £363.00 

Master Compact Mono System £399.00 

Master Compact Colour System £549.00 

RS 232 Kit £26.00 

Additional Floppy Disc Drive £99.00 

Pal TV Adaptor £26.00 

Scientific Series 

4Mb Workstation £3250.00 

32016 1Mb Second Processor £1050.00 

Panos 1.4 Upgrade Kit £29.00 

X25 Gateway £2150.00 

Gateway Access Pack £130.00 

BBC AIV System 

BBC AIV and Domesday System Prices on request 


HCCS ASSOCIATES LIMITED 

575-583 Durham Road 
Engine Lane 
Low Fell 
Gateshead 

Tyne and Wear NE9 5JJ 


HCCS - PRODUCTS 


Video Digitiser 


£99.00 


Includes ROM and Disc Software. 

Facilities include, image grab, outlining, 
smoothing, window manipulation, distance and 
area measurement charting of relative eight 
grey scale quantities. 

Accepts standard video signals. Menu driven. 

Voice Recognition System £299.00 

Utilising state of the art NEC chip set. 

Teaching mode 128 word capacity. Down 
load from disc any number of 128 sets. Can 
be used instead of keyboard after teaching. 
Almost 100% recognition rate. The up and 
coming input method. 

EPROM adapter for 12.5V EPROMS 2764/128/ 
256 fits virtually all current blowers enables 
the use of cheaper Eproms £1 5 00 

CDT/TVEI componentry price list on application. 


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8 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 







News in brief 


i Peartree Computers has gone 
I into receivership. The com- 
pany, which built its fortunes 
on add-on boards for the BBC 
micro, lost its Acorn dealership 
earlier this year, and was forced 
to withdraw its Music 87 
synthesiser after it faded to 
come up to scratch. 

Cash-flow problems caused 
I by over-commitment to the 
Music 87 project are believed to 
have brought the company 
down, although it will continue 
| to trade under the receiver. 

I Solinet, the Solidisk user 
1 group, has set up a library of 
public domain software. 

A series of 80-track discs will 
I be made available, including 
programs such as a page editor 
and toolkit ROM. Although 
submissions are invited, would- 
be contributors are reminded 
that submissions must be 
copyright free and the author 
must be made aware that the 
program has been sent in. 

I Solinet is not the only group 
with an interest in public do- 
main software — which has 
become big business for the 
IBM PC and Apple Macintosh 
The Northern Ireland comput- 
ing company Tempo Systems 
aims to get in on the act with a 
new division formed specifical 
ly to gather and distribute pub 
lie domain software for the 
| BBC micro. 

j BBC micro users who prefer 
gentler, traditional pastimes to 
violent shoot-em-up games 
should read the latest catalogue 
from Great Elm Services. This 
includes crossword and word 
puzzle games for the BBC and 
the Electron. Top of the range 
is a crossword writing pro- 
| gram, at £28.50. 

As only one key needs to be 
pressed it is suitable for use by 
the disabled; small crosswords 
can be shown in a large format 
for those with poor sight. 
Number and word puzzle crea- 
tion programs also feature in 
I the range. 

ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


Arc swings into music 


Music looks like being the first 
of the niche markets Acorn is 
to exploit with the Archimedes. 
An expansion card to link to 
electronic instruments fitted 
with the MIDI standard inter- 
face is to be launched later this 
month. 

The BBC B has already had 
some success in reaching pro- 
fessional musicians — including 
chart toppers Erasure and 
Ultravox — - with MIDI equip- 
ment from UMI, and the Hyb- 
rid Music 5000 system. 

Acorn is making a first 
appearance at the British Music 
Fair in Wembley to show off 
the expansion card, which costs 
£79.35 and includes MIDI in, 
out and through ports. Addi- 
tional chips will be included to 
enable the Arc to control exter 
nal musical instruments and to 
make its own sounds simul- 
taneously if required. 

Archimedes users who have 
already bought the input/ 
output expansion card can buy 
a MIDI add-on for £44.85. This 
contains the in and out ports 
but not the through port or the 
processing chips. 

Acorn’s David Bell said: 
‘Music is a fast-growing area of 



SreareaSngl^ top groups using Beeb-based MIDI gear 


the computer market. If you 
walk down any high street you 
will see MIDI keyboards for 
sale in the shops.’ He is work- 
ing with third party developers 
to ensure that the machine’s 
MIDI capability is adequately 
supported by software. 

For example, Armadillo Sys- 
tems is working on professional 
quality hardware and software 
to make use of the card. This 
should be available in Septem- 
ber. Another partner is Electro 
Music Research whose Sound- 
synth system is aimed at the 
home user. 

Armadillo Systems is further 
exploiting the Archimedes’ 


speed with the release of a 
Fourier analysis program. The 
program, Spectre , takes a sam- 
pled sound and splits it into its 
separate harmonics. These are 
displayed on screen in either 
two or three dimensions, and| 
can then be edited. 

Because of the Archimedes’ 
speed the analysis can take only 
10 milliseconds as opposed to 
the 30 seconds it would take on 
a BBC B. For the first time a 
home computer can be used to 
perform Fourier functions such 
as real time spectral analysis. 
The program costs £46, or £161 
including the sampler expan- 
sion card and software. 


Two new 
Dabs guides 

Dabs Press has published two 
more books for BBC and Arc 
users. First is C: a Dabhand 
Guide , by Mark Burgess. 

This costs £14.95 and in- 
cludes chapters of specific rele- 
vance to the BBC and the 
Archimedes, as well as intro- 
ducing the language. 

Support discs are available in 
Beebug C for the BBC and 
Zorland C for the IBM- 
compatible Master 512. 

The second book is Mike 
Ginns’ Archimedes Assembly 


mmm\ Dabhand Guido wmm 
MIKE GINNS 

ARCHIMEDES 

ASSEMBLY 

LANGUAGE 




The 

Complete 

Programming 

Course 




.DABS, 

PRESS 


Language , also £14.95. 

Meanwhile, the software side 
of Dabs is moving into the 
games market with an 
Archimedes shoot-em-up, Ale- 
rion for £14.95. 


Word search 

If you turn to a regular diction- 
ary to check on computer ter- 
minology, you’ll often be dis- 
appointed. The latest technical 
jargon simply isn’t there. Ihe 
new Chambers Science and\ 
Techology Edition , heavily re- 1 
vised is the answer. 

Its 45,000 entries cover all 
the main branches of science 
and technology, and computing 
entries include names of lan- 
guages and abbreviations as 
well as the usual gobbledy- 
gook. The 1000-page paperback 
is a reasonable investment at 
£16.95, with the hardback | 
weighing in at £30. 


SILICON VISION 

CAD SOFTWARE 
FOR THE ARCHIMEDES & BBC 


REALTIME SOLIDS MODELLER £89.95 

The complete 3D Solids/Wireframe package for architectural 
design, interior design, engineering design, teaching CDT and 3D 
geometry, molecular modelling, mathematical plots, scientific 
Processing and high speed flicker-free 3D animation. 

(BBC B/ B+/ Master 128). Enquire for Archimedes version. 


ARC-PCB 


£POA 


The ultimate PCB design system custom written for the 
Archimedes with a specification that can't be matched. Includes 
fully automatic routing. Write for detailed information. 
(Archimedes 305, 310, 410 & 440) 


\3D CAD/ANIMATION SYSTEM £12.95 (BBC) 

£19.95 (ARC) 

This is a full blown 3D CAD & Animation system that can handle 
wireframe models of any complexity. 

(BBC B/ B+/ Master 1 28) 

(Archimedes 305, 310, 410 & 440) 


SUPER-DUMP 


£15.95 


The ultimate printer driver which prints at a resolution of, 
1920x1024 on ordinary Epson compatible printers. The packaqe 
is fully compatible with our 3D graphics packages and all other 
fPP[ip a ^ l0ns that can create VDU plotfiles of a screen imaqe. 
(BBC B/ B+/ Master 128). Enquire for Archimedes version. 


Access 


Write for free catalogue. 

All prices include VAT and P&P. 


SILICON VISION LTD, CAD DEPT, SIGNAL HOUSE, LYON 
ROAD, HARROW, MIDDX, HA1 2AG. TEL: 01-422 2274 or 
01-861 2173. Fax: 01-427 5169. Telex: 918266 SIGNAL G. 


10 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 




NEWS 



THE COMMS COLUMN 


Masters at work 


A husband and wife team based 
in south Cambridgeshire are 
using the Master to power their 
marketing, typesetting and 
office services company. Rye- 
croft Data was started three 
years ago by John and Chris- 
tina Clark with the aid of a 
BBC B computer, Wordwise 
wordprocessing software and a 
printer. Since then two Masters 
and an IBM-compatible have 
been added to the company’s 
offices (above), with an Arch- 


imedes on its way to link the 
machines. The company offers 
secretarial services such as 
wordprocessing business let- 
ters, plus typesetting and de- 
sign work. Ryecroft will also 
maintain a database for com- 
panies and send out mailshots. 

Wordwise Plus files are fed 
through Telecom Gold to type- 
setters Wordstream in Dorset. 
Bromides are returned the next 
day ready to be made up into 
documents by Ryecroft. 


Fancy fonts for 24-pins 


Users of 24-pin dot-matrix 
printers often find that their 
software is not sophisticated 
enough to generate the special 
characters their printers are 
capable of printing. 

Wordpower, a BBC word- 
processor which runs on all 
Acorn machines from Electron 
to Archimedes, has long had 
the flexibility of output to do 
this. But the increasing popu- 
larity of 24-pin printers has led 
program developer Ian Cope- 


stake Software to release a wide 
range of what it calls ‘power 
fonts’. The Wordpower prog- 
ram with one font costs £63.25 
and extra fonts are £21.85 each. 

The power fonts can also be 
used with other programs. 
Typefaces — which include Ir- 
ish Gaelic, chemistry symbols 
and A PL characters — are sup- 
plied on disc to be downloaded 
into the printer. Educational 
site licences are available for all 
products from £100. 


School software appeal 


A Lancashire school is appeal- 
ing for software to help it run 
its annual community compu- 
ter camp during the summer. 

Staff at Kaskenmoor School 
in Oldham expect up to 400 
disadvantaged young people to 
take the courses, along with 
other members of the commun- 
I ity. Older students, the un- 


waged and housewives will re- 
ceive courses in business com 
puting, using the school’s BBC 
micros, Archimedes and PCs. 

Camp director Mike Hum 
phrey believes that this will be 
a good opportunity to impress 
them with new programs 
Further details from the school 
on 061-681 4116. 


Prestel has increased its pric- 
ing structure from July 1, rais- 
ing the annual subscription 
charge for the first time in five 
years by 21 per cent (to £20 per 
quarter for Prestel and Mic- 
ronet) and raising the peak- 
time access charge by 17 per 
cent to 7p per minute. 

A further change is that off- 
peak access, previously free, is 
now charged at lp per minute, 
and Saturday between 1pm and 
6pm at peak-time rates. Sub 
scribers to Prestel who do not 
use Micronet face a quarterly 
subscription of £8, up from 
£6.50. Business users are now 
charged £30 per quarter for the 
combined service, £18 for Pres 
tel alone. 

Two concessions have been 
made to Micronet members to 
offset these charges. The Shades 
and Teletalk areas, which 
already carry a time charge of 
3p per minute, will not carry 
the lp charge as well; and time 
on the system will still be free 
from midnight until 8am, while 
(and only while) accessing Mic 
ronet pages. That means it will 
be cheaper to chat with chat- 
lines than through mailboxes, 
as Mailbox is not part of Mic- 
ronet. Micronet’s managing 
director John Tomany claims 
to have ‘fought very hard’ for 
these changes. 

Another price change which 
was notified at the same time 
concerns Interlink, Micronet’s 
Telecom Gold gateway. The re 
sidential subscription charge 
for this has been reduced 
that the total charge for Mic- 
ronet, Prestel and Interlink ac 
ss is £23 per quarter, and 
there is no Gold registration fee 
(this is unchanged). 

This effectively means that 
Interlink now costs £1 per 
month, cheaper than rival Mic- 
rolink - but remember that the 
latter has the old charging sys- 
tem where no charge is made 
for the amount of text that is 
actually sent. 


Micronet users Melanie 
Weaver and Jez Thorpe have 
become the first couple to mar- 
ry after meeting in Telemap’s 
Shades , multi-user game. Their 
characters met in the fantasy 
game while roaming in the 
woods around the castle. Ihey 
actually married as characters 
the game, and then four 


in 


to 


weeks later, got engaged 
each other, and recently had a 
real live wedding at a church in 
Cornwall. 

On the subject of Shades , the 
game is now available to non- 
Micronet subscribers via the 
BT Value Added system on 
(0898) 100890. This is, of 
course, one of those 25p per 
minute (38p in peak hours) 
numbers. The game is part of 
Funtel, a new service from 
Telemap which replaces Hotel | 
California, which apparently 
was a three-month experiment. 
The number is the same as 
Hotel California’s. Shades is 
the main part of Funtel, 
although there are other on-line 
games and competitions. You 
pay for the services through | 
your normal BT phone bill. 

The bulletin board in the 
spotlight this month is the 
Dwarven Realm, run by fan- 
tasy role-playing game (FRPG) 
enthusiast Peter Jones, also 
known as Thanatos. FRP 
gameplay is, as you might ex- 
pect, conducted on the board, 
but Peter is a Beeb enthusiast, 
and you could occasionally find 
this showing through. 

The system runs on a Model 
B with 56Mb Viglen Winches- 
ter in Viewdata format (Prestel 
software, 1200/75 modem) on 
(0376) 501036. This is a recent 
number change following 
Essex-based Peter’s move from | 
Ilford to Witham. 

David Atherton 
Have you got any comms news? 
If so, contact David Atherton 
either at Acorn User, or on his\ 
mailboxeSy Prestel 942876210 or \ 
Gold 72: MAG11596. 


ACORN USKR AUGUST 1988 


11 



The Best Deals 
on Arc hime des 

From BEEBUG ^ [/Archimedes 


n 




1 0% FINANCE 

For a limited period we are able to offer 0% APR finance 
over 9 months on the purchase of any Archimedes. You pay 
no interest at all. This is a brand new scheme only available 
from BEEBUG. The deposit and repayments are shown 
below. 


Deposit 9 Payments 
A305 Base C83.85 £80.00 

A305 Mono £87.35 £86.00 

A305 Colour £106.85 £103.00 
A310M Base £96.25 £96.00 

A310M Mono £108.75 £101.00 
A310M Colour £119.25 £119.00 


Deposit 9 Payments 
A3 10 Base £90.25 £89.00 

A310 Mono £102.75 £94.00 

A310 Colour £113.25 £112.00 
A440 Base £267.85 £264.00 
A440 Mono £271.35 £270.00 
A440 Colour £290.85 £287.00 


r 



3 FREE PC EMULATOR OR 
ON-SITE MAINTENANCE 

Join RISC USER, the Archimedes magazine and support 
9 rou P.and purchase your Archimedes by Cheque, Access 
Visa, Official Order or 11.5% finance and we will supply vou 
absolutely free, 10 3.5" discs, a lockable disc storage box 
printer lead and the latest version of The PC Emulator from ’ 
Acorn. Alternatively we will provide 1 year on-site 
maintenance for your Archimedes absolutely free (8 hour 
call out guaranteed). y v 

A305 Base E803.85 Mono £861.35 Colour £1033.85 

A310Base £891.25 Mono £948.75 Colour£1121 25 

A440 Base £2643.85 Mono £2701.35 Colour £2873^85 






TRADE IN YOUR OLD 
BBC, MASTER OR COMPACT 
FOR AN ARCHIMEDES 




We will be pleased to accept your old computer (in working 
condition) as part exchange towards the purchase of an 
Archimedes. (If you use the finance scheme this will replace 
your initial deposit on a 305/310, so you pay nothing now) 
Allowances are as follows: 

BBC Issue 4 No DFS £125 

BBC Issue 4 DFS £175 

BBC Issue 7 No DFS £175 

BBC Issue 7 DFS (Or B + ) £225 

Master 128 £250 

Compact Base System £215 

Please phone for allowances on other Compact and Master 
systems. 


11.5% FINANCE 
OVER 12 TO 36 MONTHS 

As a Licensed Credit Broker we are able to offer finance on 
the purchase of any equipment, including the Archimedes 
You still benefit from the free PC Emulator, discs, disc box 
and printer lead. (Typical APR 23% on the purchase of a 310 
Colour system over 36 months. 

Deposit £126.25 36 payments of £3736). 



DISCOUNTS FOR 
EDUCATION 



TO FIND OUT MORE 
PHONE OR WRITE NOW. 
TEL: 0727 40303 

We offer a complete service, 
including Advice. Technical 
Support, Showroom, Mail Order 
and Repairs. Our showroom in St. 
Albans stocks everything available 
for the Archimedes. Call in for a 
demonstration. 


We are able to offer attractive discounts to Education 
Authorities, Schools, Colleges and Health Authorities. 
Please write with your requirements for a quotation. 


Please indicate your requirements below. 

Subscription to Rise User (£14.50 UK) □ Information Pack and Catalogue □ 0% Finance Form for 
305/310/310M/440 Base/Mono/Colour □ 12*36 Months Finance Form for 305/310/310M/440 
Base/Mono/Colour □ Trade In BBC/Master/Compact □ Purchase 305/310/440 Base/Mono/Colour □ 
UK Courier Delivery £7.00. Overseas please ask for a quotation. 

I enclose a cheque value £ 

Please debit my Access/Visa/Connect Card No 
Expiry. / with £ 


I 


Name 


Address 


Signature ^U8 


Beebug, Dolphin Place, Holywell Hill, St. Albans, Herts AL1 1 E) 
BEEBUG - The Archimedes Specialists 


Tel: 0727 40303 




NEWS 


Prestel 

British Telecom’s Prestel ser- 1 
vice has increased its subscrip- 
tion and connection charges 
and provoked an angry re- 
sponse from users. What has 
upset them, especially home us- 
ers who subscribe to on-line 
magazine Micronet, is the in- 
troduction of a penny a minute 
charge for evening use of the 
system. Before the price rises 
off-peak use only cost the price 
of a local phone call. For the 
users who only log-on on 
weekday evenings this repre- 
sents a huge increase. 

Acorn User's Prestel mailbox 
has been jammed with letters 
from irate Micronetters. ‘This 
will kill the system for home 
users. Please try to do some- 
thing about it’, said Tim De- 
dopulos. Many feel that while 
business users would not notice 
the six to seven pence a minute 

Arc gets 
started 

The latest major software re- 
lease for the Archimedes is 
Mitre Software’s relational 
database manager Flying Start 
II. 

‘What made us do a version 
for the Archimedes was that we 
liked the machine’ explained 
Mitre’s Gerald Hilt. ‘The new 
version is the same as the PC 
version except that it runs 
much faster with RISC.’ 

The package includes a de- 
monstration disc to show the 
features of the database, and 
sample data is included to show 
practical application. With the 
program disc and documenta- 
tion the package costs £99. 

This package is already 
familiar in its IBM PC version, 
which was under the Arc’s PC 
emulator. The latest version 
works in the Arc’s native 
mode, making full use of the 
ARM chip’s speed. 


rise angers users 



rise in the peak charges, the 
introduction of the evening 
charge will deter home users. 

Telemap spokesperson David 
Rosenbaum replied that there 
was no time charge between 
midnight and 8am. ‘If someone 


logs on for an hour a week in 
the evening it’s only going to 
cost them the same as half a 
pint, which is still good value 
for money.’ 

Telemap has offset the in- 
creased Micronet subscription 


charges with Interlink, provid- 
ing improved access to mail 
service Telecom Gold. Personal 
subscriptions rise from £66 to 
£79.95 a year and the business 
rate has risen to £119.95. 

Computer journalist Steve 
Gold commented that the new 
charges could hit both Mic- 
ronet and Prestel hard, with 
Micronet standing to lose sub- 
scribers unwilling to pay time 
charges. ‘My main worry is not 
that British Telecom will close 
the Prestel service but that it 
will stop serving the general 
user and become aimed at spe- 
cialist areas’, he said. 

Meanwhile Telemap is ex- 
panding away from its Prestel 
base with the launch of a new 
division, Funtel, accessed on 
0898 numbers. Services include 
the Hotel California entertain- 
ment service. 

Clean sweep 

While there are electric 
simulation circuits on the BBC 
micro there is not much equip- 
ment to verify the behaviour of 
real circuits. 

Add-on B-Sweep produces 
frequency response graphs by 
sending a sine-wave through 
the circuit. Manufacturer Mel- 
ford Designs believes that the 
£95 unit will be useful for 
education as well as industry. 

CAD book 

Designs on your Desktop is a 
new book which sets out to 
explain the benefits o 
computer-aided design (CAD\ 
It aims to cover all aspects o: 
computerised design and con- 
vert everyone from the manag- 
ing director to the newest sta: 
member to using computers. It 
covers various aspects of CAD 
and three dimensional model - 
ing. Written by engineer Harry 
Atherton the book is publishec 
by Sigma Press for £11.95. 


Wordprocessing 
tops with readers 


Wordprocessing has overtaken 
programming as the most 
popular activity for Acorn User 
readers according to the survey 
in May’s issue. 

Over 1500 people replied to 
the survey. 1189 listed word- 
processing as one of their top 
five activities, while 1113 
named programming. 

The most popular machine is 
the BBC B owned by 57 per 
cent of respondents. Arc own- 
ers make up 7 per cent, three- 
quarters of them having kept 
their Acorn micro. Interesting- 
ly, most had a 310 or 440, 
rather than the cheaper 305; 
shades of the model A? 

Hints and Tips is the best 
section in Acorn User , say 
readers, followed by Letters, 
News, and Joe’s Jottings. 

Over a third of the replies 
came from readers in educa- 


tion. One in six is a teacher. 
The influence of Acorn 
machines was shown with one 
in five readers being in en- 
gineering, computing or re- 
search. 14 per cent were self- 
employed or in professional or 
managerial positions. 

When it came to suggestions 
for articles, one of the most 
popular was a history of 
Acorn. This is in fact already 
underway with part one in the 
next issue. 

The winner of the Arc was 
Nigel Potter of Reading for his 
suggestion of a series of articles 
on designing dance steps using 
footprint icons. Sheer original- 
ity won through. J van der Post 
in the Netherlands with utility 
programs for form filling, and 
N Phizackerley of Lancaster on 
mapping two-dimensional data, 
both won Compacts. 


ACORN USKR AUGUST 1988 


13 





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RISC USER 


We have launched a magazine and support group specifically 
for users of Archimedes. The magazine provides news, 
reviews, hints and programs, while the support group gives 
Technical Advice and 5% discount on our range of 
Archimedes products. UK subscription is £14.50 per annum. 


New BEEBUG 0% Finance 

We are now able to offer customers 0% finance on 
Archimedes Computers. 

Please contact us for written details. 

We also offer normal finance on all other 
equipment over £300. 


ARCHIMEDES 300 SERIES 

Alzvays in stock 

0190G BBC 305 Entry System * 

01 91 G BBC 305 Mono System * 

0192GBBC 305 Colour System * 

01 93G BBC 31 0 Entry System * 

0194G BBC 310 Mono System * 

0195GBBC 310 Colour System * 

0257GBBC 31 OM Entry System 
0258GBBC310M Mono System 
0259G BBC 31 OM Colour System 


803.85 

861.35 

1033.85 

891.25 
948.75 

1121.25 

960.25 
1017.75 

1190.25 


* Free software See Special Offer box for details 


Trade-In your BBC 
or Master Series 
Computer for an 
Archimedes. 


Sample Discounts available: 
BBC B issue 7 with DFS £225 

Master 128 £250 

Master Compact Entry £215 

Computers must obviously be in good 
working condition to qualify for this offer. 
Please telephone for further details 


PRICES INCLUDE VAT 

Where two prices are shown, the first is our 
full price and the second our members price. 


BOOKS 

1242C Programmers Ref. Man. 
1271 B ARM Assembly Prog. 


CLARES 

1095B Artisan 
1096B Image Writer 
1097B Archimedes Toolkit 
1098B Alpha Base 
1099B Artisan Support Disc 


39.95 

29.95 

39.95 

49.95 

19.95 


35.96 

26.96 

35.96 

44.96 
18.95 


ARCHIMEDES UPGRADES 

0234B Econet Board (as M128) 

0266C 0.5Mb RAM (305 only) 

0267F Floppy Disc Drive 
0268G20Mb Hard Disc (300’s) 

0269C Podule Backplane 
0270DROM Podule 
0271 D I/O Podule 
0272DMIDI add-on to I/O 


48.88 

46.43 

102.35 

97.23 

143.75 

136.56 

573.85 

545.16 

44.85 

42.61 

67.85 

64.46 

90.85 

86.31 

33.35 

31.68 


MEMBERS SPECIAL OFFER 

When buying a new Archimedes we will 
give you absolutely free: 

The PC Emulator software. Printer lead and 
Lockable 3.5" disc box with 10 discs all 

worth over £100. 

Not available on 0% finance 


ARCHIMEDES 400 SERIES 


02 63G Archimedes 440 Entry 
0265G Archimedes 440 Colour 


2643.85 

2873.85 


Beebug Mouse Mats 

We are now able to offer high quality 
Mouse Mats for your Archimedes. 


0789B Beebug Mouse Mat (Blue) 
0788B Beebug Mouse Mat (Red) 


3.68 

3.68 


ARCHIMEDES SOFTWARE 

1089CKermit 
1080C Ansi C 
1081C ISO Pascal 
1082C Fortran 77 
1083B Twin 
1084C Logistix 
1086C Prolog X 
1087CLisp 

0900B PC Software Emulator 
1088Clst Word Plus 
0901 C Archimedes Termulator 
0902C ARM Assembler Package 
0903B EMR Sound Synthesiser 
0904B EMR Creations Disc 


0906B Piped ream 


56.35 

53.53 

113.85 

108.16 

113.85 

108.16 

113.85 

108.16 

33.35 

31.68 

113.85 

108.16 

228.85 

217.41 

228.85 

217.41 

113.85 

108.16 

91.94 

87.34 

79.35 

75.38 

228.85 

217.41 

49.95 

47.45 

19.95 

18.95 

) 69.00 

65.55 

113.85 

108.16 



5.25" DISC DRIVE INTERFACE 
FOR THE ARCHIMEDES 

Connect up to four external disc drives to 
your Archimedes with our fully buffered 
disc drive interface. It fits neatly to the 
backplate of your machine and requires 
NO SOLDERING. 


Stock code 0795 C Members price £27.60 


69.95 

29.95 

69.95 

29.95 

64.95 
64.95 
64.95 
64.95 

64.95 

79.95 
69.85 

24.95 


66.45 

28.45 

66.45 

28.45 
61.70 
61.70 
61.70 
61.70 

61.70 
75.95 
66.36 

23.70 


3.50 

3.50 


53.53 

10.93 


MINERVA 

0931 B Sigmasheet 
0920B Deltabase 
0921B System Delta Plus 
1233B Sys. Delta Plus Ref. Man. 

0922B Order Processing 4 
0923 B Sales Ledger 4 
0924B Stock Manager 4 
0925B Purchase Ledger 4 
0926B Nominal Ledger 4 
0927B School Administrator 4 
0928B Video Rental 4 
0929B Reporter 4 

4 Requires System Delta Plus 

OTHER HARDWARE 

0805D CC ROM Podule 56.35 

0806B Battery Backup for above 11.50 
0803B Armadillo Sound Sampler 126.50 120.18 
0825CIEEE488 Podule 326.50 310.17 

0802CChromalock Podule 339.25 322.29 
0808C Watford Video Digitiser 286.35 272.03 

ARCHIMEDES LEADS 

0558B SKART Lead 
0425B Archimedes Printer Lead 
0795C5.25" Disc Drive Interface 
0796C Serial Link Kit & Disc 
0797B Just Serial Link Cable 
0826B Arch, to Magic Modem 
0827B Arch, to Linnet Modem 

ARCHIMEDES GAMES 

1179B Zarch 19.95 

1187B Conquerer 24.95 

0930B Minotaur Game 14.95 

0935B Dread Dragon Droom (ed.) 18.95 


9.42 

9.42 

29.05 

18.16 

12.11 

7.32 

732 


8.95 

8.95 
27.60 
17.25 
11.50 

6.95 
6.95 


18.95 

23.70 

14.20 

18.00 


All Prices 
Include VAT. 


Carriage 


Carriage is denoted by the letter contained in the stock code. 
A-50p, B*£l, C-£2 , D-£3, E-£4, F-E5.50, G-£7. When ordering 
several items, use the highest price code and half of each 
subsequent code. For courier delivery U9e code G. 


Credit Cards 


Access and Visa orders are welcome, and may be 
placed by letter or telephone (24 hours). 


BEEBUG LTD, 

Dolphin Place, Holywell Hill, 
St.Albans, Herts., AL1 1EX. 


■S* (0727)40303 

Please telephone for a Free Information 
pack and Archimedes brochure. 


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pm inoppm ir.nccni ir:nppm irnccm ir.nccni irnccm mrarrot innrrm ir.nccni innrrm innrrm mnrrni innrrm ir.nccni innrrm mnerm innrrm mnrrni innrrm innrrm mnrrni irnccm mnrrni irnrrni mnrrni irnrcn 













Video guide 

People writing interactive video 
programs face a bewildering 
choice of authoring programs. 
These packages are designed to 
make it posible for non- 
programmers to write inter- 
active courseware. But the 
range is so wide that newcom- 
ers may find the choice^of soft- 
ware difficult. 

To help them make a deci- 
sion the National Interactive 
Video Centre has published 
Authoring Packages: A Com- 
parative Report , covering eight 
of the most popular packages 
and includes a detailed evalua- 
tion and comments from users. 


Space age 

Space Apprentice is the latest 
educational simulation adven- 
ture from Magnolia Soft. The 
company took three years to 
put it together after getting the 
idea from a BBC Zigzag pro- 
ject. Children and teachers 
played a part in the develop- 
ment of the program, and the 
finished product is intended to 
appeal to the 10-14 middle 
school age range. 

Teachers can customise up to 
11 commands to adapt the 
program to their own lessons. 
Plenty of off-computer work is 
included to encourage children 
to solve problems rather than 
simply treat the program as a 
game. They should approach 
the program as a group rather 
than as individuals to gain the 
fullest benefits. 

The program costs £17.50 for 
a 40-track disc containing the 
BBC B version and an en- 
hanced Master Version. 


Teachers fear poor 
technology image 



Concern that computing and 
information technology teach- 
ers are being left out in the cold 
has led to a new lobby group 
being formed. 

The Association of Comput- 
ing and IT Teachers aims to 
support high-quality teaching 
and to promote understanding 
of its value and relevance. Lon- 
don computing inspector and 
ACITT founder Bryan Weaver 
explained: ‘Computing teachers 
often began in a different sub- 
ject and have only received a 
small amount of in-service 
training in computing. There is 
a lot for them to learn.’ 

Other members of the asso- 
ciation include teachers and au- 
thority advisers. Its committee 
includes representatives from 
MUSE, the Computer Educa- 
tion Group and the British 
Computer Society’s schools 
committee. Many are con- 
cerned that computing and IT- 
related studies are undervalued, 
and that computing teachers are 


often isolated within the school: 
‘Often a computing teacher is 
the only one in the school. 
Where English teachers can dis- 
cuss new developments and 
problems together, the comput- 
ing teacher cannot share diffi- 
culties except in group meet- 
ings arranged by the LEA.’ 
ACITT is being launched 
with a conference at Digby 
Stuart College in London from 


July 15 to 17. It costs £75 
including accommodation and 
£55 without; both figures in- 
clude the association’s £12 
annual membership fee. Furth- 
er details from Romford Edu- 
cational Computing Centre on 
(04023) 49115. 

Questions the association 
will tackle include whether 
more resources should be de- 
voted to training. 


Look and learn 


Report on IT 
in curriculum 


Two conferences this summer 
aim to revitalise teachers’ in- 
terest in computing. The first is 
by MUSE, the Microcomputer 
Users in Education group, 
from July 25 to 27. 

Lectures and workshops will 
cover many topics, including 
computerised administration. 
Acorn will be attending to de- 
monstrate the Econet system. 

The second is the annual 
conference of the British Logo 
Users Group. Held at the Col- 
lege of St Paul and St Mary in 
Cheltenham from September 2 
to 4, the conference costs £90 
with accommodation or £35 for 



Logo users get together 


Saturday entry only. There are 
reductions for group members. 
All teachers, teacher trainers 
and researchers with an interest 
in computers and the Logo lan- 
guage are welcome. This con- 
ference also features an exhibi- 
tion and workshops. 


The Technology Education 
Project, based at King’s Col- 
lege, London, has issued its 
first report. The project was 
based on the urgent need to 
develop a useful technology 
syllabus to equip students for 
modern society. It examined 
ways in which the subject 
could fit into the plannee 
national core curriculum. 

The report should be per- 
cieved as useful by students anc 
should form a coherent part o:: 
the curriculum. Copies from 
the Centre for Educational Stu- 
dies, 552 King’s Road, London 
SW10. 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


15 


ZONE 


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16 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


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Contacts 


Atomwide Ltd, 23 The Green- 
way, Orpington, Kent. Tel: 
(0689) 38852. 

British Logo User Group, PO 
79, Walsall WS5 3RW. 

Dabs Press, 76 Gardner Road, 
Yestwich, Manchester M25 
7HU. Tel: 061-773 2413. 

Epson UK Limited, 388 High 
Road, Wembley, Middlesex 
HA9 6UH. Tel: 01-902 8892. 
Ian Copcstake Software, 10 
Frost Drive, Wirral, 
Merseyside L61 4XL. Tel: 051- 
648 6287. 

Mclford Designs Ltd, 5 Buck- 
nails Drive, Bricket Wood, St 
Albans, Herts AL2 3XJ. Tel: 
(0923) 672008. 

Micronct, Telemap Ltd, Dur- 
rant House, 8 Herbal Hill, 
London EC1R 5ES. Tel: 01- 
278 3143. 

MUSE, PO Box 43, Houghton 
on the Hill, Leicester LE7 
9GX. Tel: (0533) 433839. 
National Interactive Video 
Centre, 24 Stephenson Way, 
London NW1 2HD. Tel: 01- 
387 2233. 

Solinet, 13 St John Street, 
Bridlington, East Yorkshire 
Y016 5NL. 

Tcchnomatic, 17 Burnley 
Road, London NW10 1ED. 
Tel: 01-208 1177. 


Next 

month 

The graphics kernel system is a 
graphics standard widely used 
on powerful micros and mini- 
computers. Guy Martin and 
Gary Phillips show how 
they've implemented GKS in 
Basic on the Archimedes. 

Alan Watkins describes his 
experiences upgrading his 305 
with extra RAM, a backplane 
and a Winchester disc. Peter 
Voke continues the adventure 
theme, with a description of the 
adventure generator used to 
write Warlord and the text 
compression scheme. 

And Graham Bell shows you 
how to use microspacing in 
View on a dot-matrix printer. 


BLUNDERB0X 


There was an error in July's 
Agora. A line was omitted de- 
scribing Stuart Turgis's disc 
compaction program. “ADPS 
FreeSpace” actually returns 
with register R0 containing the 
amount of free space on the 
disc and the size of the largest 
single area of space in register 
Rl. The two values are com- 
pared and, when the same, the 
disc has been compacted. 


Compact prize 


The winner of our April com- 
petition, held in conjunction 
with the British Trust for Con- 
servation Volunteers, is Mrs M 
Oldham of Rossendale, Lancs. 
She wins an Acorn Master 
Compact computer. Runners 
up who each receive an Acorn 
vase arc John Cooke of Stock- 
port, Mrs PM Gilbert of Man- 
chester, AJ Gibbons of Tor- 
quay, CE Kerr of Littlehamp- 
ton and Mrs E Nightingale of 
St Mary, Jersey. Congratula- 
tions to all the winners. 



Mrs Oldham’s reward 


New discs on order 


Because our 3.5-inch discs have 
proved so popular we are mak- 
ing it easier for you to buy 
them. Starting with this 
month’s disc, featuring our 
adventure, they will now be 
available just like 5.25-inch 
discs from the order form on 
page 101; 3.5in disc subscrip- 
tions will also be available, 
starting from September’s issue. 
However discs up to and in- 
cluding July's should still be 
ordered separately as before. 
Write to Acorn User Monthly 
Disc Offer, Redwood Pub- 


lishing, 20-26 Brunswick Place, 
London N1 6DJ, enclosing a 
cheque for £7.95 made out to 
Redwood Publishing. 


Reporter wanted 

Acorn User and Educational 
Computing are looking for an 
experienced journalist to write 
news for both titles. Know- 
ledge of computers less impor- 
tant than editorial skills. Apply 
with cv to Tony Quinn, Red- 
wood Publishing, 20-26 Bruns- 
wick Place, London N1 6DJ. 


POST A PROBLEM 


Acorn User has a guaranteed fast reply service for enquiries. Your 
answer will be returned within 10 working days for just £3 
(includes VAT), or your money back. 

Just write out your problem, fill in the coupon (right), and send 
both off to Acorn User with a stamped addressed envelope and 
cheque or postal order for £3 made out to Redwood Publishing. If 
you want recorded delivery add the cost of this on. Include as 
much detail as possible, and a disc or cassette if a program is 
involved, with enough space to record any corrected listing. 

Please note: debugging readers’ programs or those from other 
magazines is a complex task and we cannot guarantee to give a full 
solution. Unless the problem can be spotted quickly, the service 
will only be able to make general comments or suggest a strategy 
for the reader. 

We will answer the problem and return all material received 
within a guaranteed 10 working days from receipt. If we fail to 
match this promise then your cheque or postal order will be 
returned with the answered question — you can’t lose! 


ACORN USER READER SERVICE 
20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ. 

NAME _ 

ADDRESS 


POSTCODE 


DAYTIME PHONE NUMBER 

I enclose a cheque/postal order for £3 made out to 
Redwood Publishing and an sae with my problem. 

OFFICE USE ONLY Date in: j 

Date out: 

Answered by: 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


17 





/ Computers and Upgrades 


Archimedes 305 

Archimedes 305 mono 

Archimedes 305 col 

Archimedes 310 

Archimedes 310 mono 

Archimedes 310 col 

Archimedes 310m 

Archimedes 310m mono 

Archimedes 310m col 

Archimedes 410 

Archimedes 410 mono system 

Archimedes 410 colour system 

Archimedes 440 

Archimedes 440 mono system 

Archimedes 440 colour system 

Archimedes podule backplane 

Archimedes ROM podule 

Archimedes I/O podule 

Archimedes MIDI add-on to I/O podule 

Archimedes MIDI Podule 

Master 128 

Master Compact 

Master Turbo Upgrade 

Master 512 Upgrade 

Master 128 Eprom Cartridge 

Master 128 Dust Cover 

Compact RS 232 Interface 

Compact TV Modulater 

1770 Disc Interface 

ADFS ROM (B+ or B with 1770) 

B+ 64 64K Upgrade 

Cambridge Computers Z88 

Z88 PSU £8.65 (d) 128K RAM £43.00 (e) 


/ Printers (Dot Matrix) 


£699.00 (a) 
£759.00 (a) 
£919.00 (a) 
£835.00 (a) | 
£895.00 (a) 
£1055.000 (a)- 
£895.00 (a) 
£995.00 (a) 
£1115.00 (a) 
POA 
POA 
POA 
£2529.00 (a) 
£2589.00 (a) 
£2749.00 (a) { 
£39.00 (d)l 
£59.00 (d) 1 
£85.00 (d) 
£39.00 (e) 
£69.00 (d) 
£369.00 (a) 
from £310.00 (a) 
£99.00 (c)‘ 
£189.00 (c) 
£11.00 (c) 
£4.50 (e) 
£26.00 (c) 
£26.00 (e) 
£41.00 (d) 
£25.00 (e) 
£30.00 (d) 
£244.00 (a) 

128K EPROM £43.00 (e) 


Epson LX800 80col/150cps -f 22cps NLQ £229.00 (a) 

Citizen 120 D 80col. 20cps + 25cps NLQ £150.00 (a) 

Citizen MSP10E 80col, 160cps + 40 cps NLQ £225.00 (a) 

Citizen MSP50E 136c/160cps -f 40cps NLQ £259 00 (a) 

Citizen MSP40 80c/200cps + 50cps NLQ £300.00 (a) 

Citizen MSP45 136c/200cps + 50cps NLQ £40000 (a) 

Citizen MSP50 80/250cps + 60cps NLQ £379^00 (a) 

MP165 80cot/165cps + 38cps NLQ £179.00 (a) 

Citizen MSP55 136c/250cps + 60cps NLQ £520.00 (a) 

Citizen HQP45 24pin 136col 200 cps + 60cps LQ £454.00 (a) 

CITIZEN HQ P40 24pin 80col 200cps -f 60cps Q £379.00 (a) 

MP200 80col/200cps + 40cps NLQ £264.00 (a) 

MP201 136col/200cps + 40cps NLQ £289.00 (a) 

STAR LC10 120cps + 30cps NLQ £174.00 (a) 


/ Printers (Daisy Wheel) 


Juki 6100 1 lOcol 20cps £290.00 (a) 

Citizen Premier 35 1 32col 35cps £554.00 (a) 

MP26-26cps Diablo 630 compatable £234.00 (a) 

MP40-40cps Diablo 630 compatable £319.00 (a) 

2yr warranty on Citizen, Juki and mp printer 


/ Printers (Laser) 


New Citizen Laser Overture 110 

10 pages/min 250 Sheet cassette 

dual interface. £1450.00 (a) 

with one year on site maintenance. 


/ AMX Mouse and Software 


£60.00 (d) 
£37.00 (d) 
£21.00 (e) 
£4.34 (e) 


AMX Mouse -f Super Art 
AMX Pagemaker 
Extra Extra 
Mouse Mat 


,/ Disc Drives 


Single DS 40/80T 
Single DS 40/80T in psu 
Dual DS 40/80T 
Dual DS 40/80T in psu 
Dual DS 40/80T in psu and plynth 
20mB Winchester 
Combination 3.5 5.28 Winchester available. Phone for details. 


£96.00 (a) 
£11 1.00 (a) 
£189.00 (a) 
£209.00 (a) 
£214.00 (a) 
£449.00 (a) 


COM P U T I N G 


BUSINESS SYSTEMS • HARDWARE 
SOFTWARE • VIDEO SYSTEMS 
MEDIA SUPPLIES 
OFFICIAL DOMESDAY DEALER 


Acorn! 


ACORN APPROVED DEALER 

Phone 0602 787923 


. / Discs 


Discs 5.25" (Boxed in 10's Lifetime guarantee) 


3M 744 SS/DD 48TPI 

£8.00 (d) 

3M 745 DS/DD 48TPI 

£9.00 (d) 

3M 747 DS/DD 96TPI 

£13.00 (d) 

Add £1 for plastic library case 


B & S Label 96TPI in see through LIB. Case DS/DD 

£10.00 (d) 

Disc Cleaning Kit (state 5V4" or 3V2'') 

£9.00 (d) 

3.5" 


3M 35SS SS'DD (Box of 101 

£13.00 (d) 

3M 35DS DS DD (Box of 10) 

£16.00 (d) 

B & S Label DS'DD 

£13.00 (d) 


Lockable Anti-Static 5.25" Storage Cases 


50 Disc Capacity 

£8.00 (d) 

100 Disc Capacity 

£10.00 (d) 

L/ Monitors 


All Monitors include BBC Lead 

Phillips Range of high resolution Mono Monitors 

with Audio Input Green Amber or Paper White. 

BM 7502 (Green) 

BM 7522 (Amber) 

BM 7542 (Paper White) 

Hi-Screen ST88 Monitor 
Spec as Phillips CM8833 

Phillips Colour Monitor RGB, Composite Video, 
Audio in Linear RGB Green Screen Switchable 
BBC/IBM Compatible CM8833 
Philips Multisync 

CM8873 CGA/EGA/PGA Compatible 

Ideal for use with the Acorn Archimedes computers 

Microvitec 

143) (Metal or Plastic Case please specify) Std Res 
1451 (Metal or Plastic Case please specify) Med Res 
1441 (Metal or Plastic Case please specify! High Res 
1431 AP Metal Case RGB and CV Audio Std Res 
1451 AP Metal Case only RGB and CV Audo Med Res 
TILT and SWIVEL Stands for Plastic Case Only 
Plinths 
BBC B Sngle 
BBC Master Sngle 
BBC Master with Shell 


We are licensed credit brokers. £1 000 instant credit available ask 
for written details. (Apr 32. 1 %) 


UK Customers: please add 15% VAT to all rices 
(including carriage). 

Government and educational establishments official orders welcomed. 
When ordering please enclose a cheque or postal order for the 
appropriate amount. UK Carriage Rates (a) £8.00 - courier insured 
delivery (b) £3.50 (c) £2.50 (d) £1.50 (e) £1.00. All prices are correct at 
time of going to press. All offers are subject to availability, all prices 
are subject to change without prior notification and are available on 
request. Current price list is available on request. 

Good normally desptached on receipt of order. 


B & S COMPUTING (NOTT'M) LTD 
THE LENTON BUSINESS CENTRE 
LENTON BOULEVARD 
NOTTINGHAM NG7 2BY 
PHONE: 0602 787923 


^ / ROM Boards 

ATPL Sideways (state B or B+ ) 

£34.00 (d) 

Viglen ROM System (B Senes) 

£1125 Id) 

Vtglen ROM System (Master 1281 

£12 00 Idl 

Viqlen ROM System Compact 

£12 00(d) 

Viglen Spare Cartridges 

£2.50 (e) 


. / Printer Ribbons and Accessories 


Epson LX 86 (Compat) 

£2 89 (el 

Epson MX 80 RX 80 FX 80 FX 85 (Compat) 

£2 50 lei 

Juki 5510 C'tizen MSP 20 (Compat) 

£2 50 (el 

Citizen 120D/LSP10 

£3 75 (el 

Taxan 810'Canon (Compat) 

£3.75 (e) 

Juki 6100 Multistrike 

£2 30 (el 

Tally MT85 Fabr.c 

£5 00 (el 

Tally MT86 Carbon 

£7 00(e) 

Printer lead 1 5m B B+ M128ELK + 1 

£6 00(e) 

Pr.nter lead 1 5m Compact 

£8 00 le) 

Pr nter lead 2m IBM or Compatible 

£10 00(d) 

80col Printer Stand 

£1100(0 

Universal Pr-nter STand 

£15 00(d) 

Printer Switch Box 2 Way "T" Switch 

£39 00(0 

Modems 

All Modems inc BBC Lead 


Miracle WS2000 
M rade WS4000 Hayes Compat 
Pace Nightingale + Commstar II 
Nightingale Auto Dial Auto Answer Board + SW 
Pace Commstar II ROM 
Pace Linnet 

NB BABT APPROVAL ON MODEMS ONLY 


£95 00 (c) 
£144 00 (a) 
£94 00 (cl 
£52 00 Id) 
£28 00 (e) 
£124.00 (c) 


£69.00 (a) 
£74.00 (a)- 
£74.00 (a) 

£195.00 (a) 


£220.00 

£520.00 (a) 

£184.00 (a) 
£229.00 (a) 
£379.00 (a) 
£214.00 (a) 
£260.00 (a) 
C19 00(d) 

£11 00 (c) 

£1 2 00 (cl 
£22 00 (b) 


Acorn Soft 

Micro Prolog 

£50 00 Id) 

ISO Pascal 

£42 00 Idl 

.ogo 

£44 00 Id) 

BCPL 

f 390010 

Forth Disc 

£14.00 (e) 

Comal 

£32 00 Id) 

Lisp 

£33 00 (e) 

Hi View 

£37 00(d) 

View professional 

£75.00 (c) 

View 3.0 

£39 00(d) 

Vewsheet 

£37 00 Id) 

Vew Store 

£37 00 Id! 

View Spell (80T oniyi 

£29 00 Idl 

View Plot 

£21 00 le) 

View Index 

£10 00 lej 

Overview 

£69.00 (c) 

View Printer Driver Gen 

Tape £7 00 (el 

Disc 

£8 00 le) 

Computer Concepts 

Interword 

£39 00(d) 

inter Sheet 

£39 00(d) 

interchan 

£26 00 (dl 

interbase 

£49.00 (d) 

Mega 3 

£75.00 (c) 

‘Spellmaster 

£42.00 (d) 

Wordwtse 

£30 00 Idl 

Wordwise + 

£37 00 id) 

Mirrorsoft 

Fleet Street Editor 

£31 00 Id) 

Fonts and Graph cs 

£1175 le) 

Clares 

Fontwise + 

£16 00(e) 

Repl-ca ill 

£11 00 lei 

VINE MICRO REPLAY (State M C and Disc Interface) 

C30 00 le) 


NB It is essential to state machine and 40/80T 
when ordering software 


/ Books (No VAT on books) 


Master Ref Manuals Ptl £14 00 (dl Pt 2 £14 00 (dl 

Advanced Master ref Manual (Bray & Dickens) £19.95 (d) 

Lisp £8.00 (e) Forth £8.00 (e) ISO Pascal £8.00 (e) 

BCPL £14 00(d) V-ew Guide £6 00 le) Into View £6 00(e) 

View 3 £9 00(e) V.ew Sheet £9 00 (el V^w Store £9 00(e) 

lArchimedes Ref manual £29.95 (d) ! 

Arm assembly language manual £12.95 (e) 

Mastering View ViewSheet and ViewStore £12.95 (e) 

Understanding Inter Word £6.50 (e) 

View - A Dabhand Guide £12.95 (e) Z88 Computing £9.95 (e) 


/ Fanfold Paper and Labels 


2000 x 1 Part 60gm 11x9 5" Micro Perf £1 2.00 (c) 

1000 x 1 Part 85gm 11x95" Micro Perf £9.00 (c) 

1000 x 1 Part 90gm "Perfect" A4 Micro Perf £12.00 (b) 

1000 89mm x 36mm Labels £4 00 Id) 

1 000 89mm x 49mm Labels £6 00 (d) 

1 000 1 02mm x 36mm Labels £5 00 (d) 

Please state Single or Twin Row when ordering labels 


18 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 












THE IMPACT 
GAMES CLUB; 


ARCHIMEDES 

GAMES 

Terramex (Bug-Byte) 

£15.95 

Missile Control (Minerva) 

£11.95 

Hoverbod (Minerva) 

£11.95 

Conqueror (Superior) 

£19.95 

Zarch (Superior) 

£15.95 

Minotaur (Minerva) 

£11.95 

| Terramex, from Bugbyte, is a classic conversion | 

from the Atari ST and Amiga. 


| Missile Control is about as close to the original | 

arcade version you can get. 


| Hoverbod is an arcade adventure with devious | 

| puzzles and excellent graphics. 

1 


OUR GUARANTEE 


1. Over 200 titles always in stock. 

2. Over 98% of all orders are sent out on the day they are received by 1 st Class Post. 

3. We immediately replace any faulty games purchased from us. 

4. Prices are fully inclusive • nothing else to pay. 

Plus we’ll send you a free copy of our comprehensive club magazine featuring over 200 games, 
reviews, 1/2 price offers, compilation titles breakdown, competitions and the latest up-to-the- 
minute news. 


FREE HELPSHEETS/MAPS 


Spend over £4 on games and you may choose any ONE of the following helpsheets/solutions 
and maps absolutely FREE:- Spend over £10 and you may choose any TWO FREE:- 


Spycal 

Plan B2 

Quest 

Ravenskull 

Citadel 

PtanB 

Spy Vs Spy 

Spesbmder 

Elixir 

Papciboy 

Twin Kingdom VaBey 
Omega OrO 
McK Hanson 
Tar/an 
Stranded 


(Helpsheet ♦ map) 
(Solution ♦ map) 
(Helpsheet ♦ map) 
(Solution ♦ 4 maps) 
(Soluton ♦ map) 
(Solution . map) 
(Helpsheet) 
(Soluton . map) 
(Solution ♦ map) 
(He^shoet) 
..(Solution *map) 
(Helpsheet ♦ map) 
(Solution) 

(Soluton « map) 
(Solution) 


Codename Dred 
Thunderstruck 
Thunderstruck 2 
The Lost Crystal 
Last ol The Free 
Kourtyard 
G-sburnes Castle 
Palace ol Mage 
Impact 
Icarus 

Sph.nx Adventure 
Rick Hanson ? 
Philosophers Quest 
(lepton ? 


(Solution ♦ map) 

(Soluton ♦ tnap) 

(Soluton ♦ map) 

(Soluton) 

(Solution * map) 
(He^sheets • maps) 
(Soluton ♦ map) 

(Soluton ♦ map) 
(He^sheets • passwords) 
(He^pshoets * maps) 
(Soluton) 

(Solution) 

' (Soluton ♦ map) 
(Helpsheet ♦ map) 



SHARK (ASL) 


You are a lone fighter in this very good arcade 
adventure. There are 3 levels - the jungle, an oil 
refinery and a derelict town. Untold aliens will 
attack you in this game - it’s similar to 
Ghosts 'n' Goblins. Don! miss itl 

BBC/Electron Cassette £7.50 
BBC 5 1/4- Disc £9.50 




Another very good game from ASL It is similar 
to Solomon's Key and features 100 different 
screens. 

Set in a world of fire and mystery you must 
strive for your freedom. Highly recommended. 
BBC/Electron Cassette £7.50 
BBC 5 1/4“ Disc £9.50 



ortlwrTrDfl IK 
C«u*t. 5V.' Ob* 



or (Iwctron I 5**01* 
Cowfli | 


BUDGET CASSETTES 

BBC B or Electron 


*= Electron disc 




available 




M = Master compatible 




SUPERIOR 

Repton Thru Time M 

5.50 

6.35 

7.50 

Barbarian M 

7.50 

9.50 

11.95 

Spycat M 

7.50 

9.50 

11.95 

Quest M 

7.50 

9.50 

11.95 

Play It Again Sam 2 M 

7.50 

9.50 

11.95 

Bonecruncher M 

7.50 

9.50 * 

11.95 

SpelbirxJer M 

7.50 

9 50* 

11.95 

Play It Again Sam M 

7.50 

9.50 “ 

11.95* 

The Life of Repton M 

5.50 

6.35 * 

7.50 

Elixir M 

7.50 

9.50* 

11.95* 

Palace of Magic M 

7.50 

9.50* 

11.95 * 

Repton Around the World M 

5.50 

6.35 

7.50 

Crazee Rider M 

7.50 

9.50 

11.95* 

Codename: Droid (Stryker’s 2) M 
Grand Prix Cons. Set M (BBC Only) 

7.50 

9.50 

11.95* 

7.50 

9.50 

11.95 

Repton 3 M 

7.50 

9.50 

11.95 

Revs & 4 Tracks (BBC Only) M 

10.35 

11.95 

1595 

Elite M 

10.35 

11.95 

15.95 

Acorn Hits Vol 1 or 2 M 

3.99 

9.50 

11 95 

Sup. Coll.1 or 2 (BBC Only)M 
Superior Coll. 3 (Elec Only) 

7.50 

7.50 

950 

9.50 

11.95 

11.95“ 

Speech (BBC Only) M 

7.50 

950 

11.95 

Citadel M 

7.50 

9.50 

11.95 

Ravenskull M 

7.50 

950 

11.95 

Thrust M 

3.99 

9.50 

11.95 

Galalorce M 

7.50 

9.50 

11.95 

TYNESOFT 

Saigon M 

7.50 

11.95 

11.95 

Winter Olympiad ’88 M 

7.50 

11.95 

11.95 

Spy vs Spy M 
The Big k6m 

7.50 

6.35 

11 95 
10.35 

11.95 

10.35 

BoukJerdash M 

7.50 

11.95 

11.95 

Indoor Sports M 

7.50 

11.95 

11.95 

Phantom M 

635 

10 35 

1035 

Oxbridge M 

6.35 



Commonwealth Games M 

6.35 

1035 

1035 

Future Shock M 

7.50 

11.95 

11.95 

Microvalue [4 games) | 

3.99 



Microvalue 2 (4 games) | Elec 

399 



Microvalue 3 (4 games) [Only 

3.99 



Two Classic Games } 

3.99 




M = Master compatible 


ACORNSOFT 

Aviator (BBC Only) 

Revs & Revs 4 Tracks (BBC Only) 

ASL 

Shark M 
Breakthrough M 
Impact M 

Powerpack 1 (7 games) I Elec 
Powerpack 2 (7 games) } Only 
ZiggyM 
Ransack M 
Despatch Rider M 
Thunderstruck 
Thunderstruck 2 M 
Sphere ol Destiny M 
Omega Orb M 

Graham Gooch Test Cricket M 

OOP entrr 

Bismark (BBC Only) M 
Black Queen (BBC Only) M 
White Knight Mkl 2 (BBC Only) M 

BEAU JOLLY 

Five Star Games 1 (5 games) 
Five Star Games 2 (5 games) 

Five Star Games 3 (7 games) 
Computer Hits 3 (10 games) 
Computer Hits 4 (12 games) 
Computer Hits 5 (5 games) 

BUGBYTE 

Bugbyte Comp. 1 (4 games) M 
Bugbyte Comp. 2 (4 games) 
Dunjunz M 
CDS 

Colossus Bridge (BBC Only) M 
Colossus Chess (BBC Only) M 
Sieve Davis Snooker M 
Brian Clough Football M 

DOMARK 

Not a Penny More (BBC Only) M 
Star Wars M 

Living Daylights (BBC Only) 
Trivial Pursuits (All BBC Only) 
Genus Edition M 
Young Players M 
BabyBoomer M 

EUTE 
Pape »boy 
FIREBIRD 

Sentinel (BBC Only) M 
Cholo (BBC Only) M 


495 

299 


7.50 

750 

7.50 

750 

750 

6.95 

7.50 

7.50 

299 

6.35 

6.35 

635 

7.50 


495 
495 
7.50 
4 95 
7.50 
4.95 


299 

9.50 

7.50 
1 99 
7.50 

11.95 

7.50 

7.50 

11.95 

11.95 

11.95 

750 

7.50 


4 99 

9.50 

950 

9.50 


875 

9.50 

950 

950 
9.50 
9 50 
950 

11.95 

11.95 

11.95 


4.99 

4.99 

499 

11.95 

11.95 
4.50 

9.95 

15.95 
1035 
1035 

15.95 
15.95 
15 95 


11 95 


11.95 

14.35 


M = Master compatible 

GODAX 
Cyboio M 
Skirmish M 
Kourtyard M 

GREMLIN GRAPHICS 

Krakoul (BBC Only) 

Footballer of the Year 

HEWSON 

Evening Star M 
Undium (BBC Only) M 

INFOGRAMME 

Apocalypse (BBC Only) 

LOGOTRON 

XORM 

L0SURE GENIUS 
Scrabble (BBC Only) 

Monopoly (BBC Only) 

MICROPOWER 

Imogen 

(State'40 or 80 track disc)M 

MANDARIN 

Icarus M 

Time and Magic (BBC B+ and 
Master Computers only 80T)M 

MARTECH 

War (BBC Only) 

MIRRORSOFT 

Tetris M 
Spitfire ’40 M 
Strike Force Harrier 
ROBICO 

Village Of Lost Souls 

TOPOLOGIKA 
(Text Adventures 5 1/4“ 
state 40 or 80 tracks) 

Return to Doom 
Kingdom of Hamil 
Countdown to Doom 
Acheton 

Philosopher's Quest 


7.50 

495 

7.50 


7.50 

7.50 


7.50 

7.50 


7.50 


7.50 


10.35 

10.35 


5.95 


7.50 


6.95 

7.50 

7.50 

7.50 


9.50 
5 95 
950 


11.95 


11.95 
11 95 


11.95 

10.35 


11.95 

11.95 


7.50 


950 

11.95 


3.99 

10.35 
10 35 
10.35 

10.35 


10.35 

7.95 

7.95 

7.95 

7.95 


ACORNSOFT 
M.>g< Mushrooms 


Su nr* Co'rruryJ <H*e 0*0 


foe tat IAumo* 
ALTERNATIVE SOFTWARE 
P*|C4J»4 

Corr.twt Lrn* 

fWC A-ieas (BBC O oV( 

Oxry Emm 
FU ire Road* 

Ovirptt SpwttcuUr 
Socotr Boss 

Looxx (Elec Orly) 
Vdeo 

DtJ«o» At« 

Mx*. Otu (esc Cwy] 
Catew 

Trow OoeAen 1 to <0 (MCh) 

Axmonei 

UnttfuK 

ATLANTIS 

Ana*ch» Zor* 

Pro Col 

league Oal'ange 
SuTV'Wrs 

Copt and Rcooeri 
C/rroy Cat* 
p*-* 

BLUE RIBBON 

Sw«* 0a»!S Sw<! 

JODofy 

Return olW 

Bar Boards 

Mongo 

Trapccr 

V deo Card Ar:aoe 
Ng-rrare Mare 
Ravage 
Din* 

Go* 

KanW 
Pan B 
Kinky Dory 
Uranian* 

T»n Kingdom Valley 
Mvgj’Or.t |B8C Only) 

Tenni* 

Otk« 

fc# Hotkey 
S’a'ko'ca 7 


[ y.'p'i 
DOC TOR SOFT 
Prarrom Corr*al 
fIRf BIRD 
Tre Hacker 
Star Dr.hw 
RCOCHEI 

Way ol Pe tiptoe eg Fat 
G *tiumet Cas** 

Bran Jack* Super C-a r-ge 
Gec*t Case* $?»-gman 
Gatactc Patter 
Kara 

Vaga* Jackpot 
Atwc(BBCOnV) 

Edc«i Kidd Jump Cha eng* 

SUPERIOR 

Region 

Re son J 

Deanvar 

Tempest 

Kara# Cerbu 

Thru*) 

SUPIRSOFT 

Sryi 

TOP TEN 
Warehouse 

Peter Soot Tr togy iBBC O-ty) 
Gnd Iron 


HOW TO ORDER 

Simply fill in this coupon and send with a cheque or 
a postal order to Impact Posters. 


• All games despatched by 1st class post 

• FREE postage and packing (Overseas add £1) 

• Despatch normally same dayas order (over 98%) 


To: Impact Posters, Neepsend House, 1 Percy St., Sheffield, S3 8AU 
| Please send me the following games: 


TITLE 


FORMAT 

(Cassette etc.) 


COMPUTER 


PRICE 


(BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE) 
Name 

Address 


Postcode 



poitert* 


Impact Posters 
Neepsend House 
1 Percy St. 

Sheffield S3 8AU 
Tel. (0742) 769950 


I enclose a cheque P/O (made payable to Impact Posters) lor £ 


Please send me FREE helpsheets/solutions/maps 
for the following games (from those above) 


1 (Orders over £4) 

2 (Orders over £10) 
















TELETEXT ADAPTER 


Would you like access to free high quality software 
and over a thousand pages of information, but 
Prestel access charges and phone bills too 
expensive? Then read on! 

The answer is Teletext. Yes the same system 
everyone has seen incorporated into television sets, 
but with a difference. When Teletext is read by a 
computer you can actually use the data. 

The MORLEY TELETEXT ADAPTER introduces you 
to the world of Teletext at a price that won’t break the 
bank. Inside it you will find the latest in second 
generation Teletext chip technology, which unlike our 
rivals who are still using chips designed more than 
ten years ago, will be fully compatible with any future 
advances in the Teletext system. 

With the Morley adapter you will get a state of the art 
unit that automatically tunes itself into the required 
station (no more messing around with screwdrivers 
or twiddling little knobs in the back of the case), a 
user friendly menu driven program, easy to follow 
instructions and a 12 month warranty. Add to this the 
free downloadable telesoftware and we are sure that 
you will agree that we are offering you one of the 
best bargains on the market today. 

FEATURES: 

* Advanced design uses the latest technology, will 
handle ANY future enhancements to the Teletext 


system e.g.: full field; 8 bit data transfer; 2k pages 
etc. 

* Simply plugs into the user port. 

* Low power consumption, less than 200ma. 

Optional power supply available. 

* User friendly menu driven software including 
extended OSCLI and OSWord commands for access 
from BASIC programs. 

* Supplied with 16k ATS (Advanced Teletext 
Software) and 16k support ROM software inc. printer 
dumps, page 

spoolers etc. 

* FREE Telesoftware, no access charges (updated 
weekly). 

* Save selected pages to disc/tape for later retrieval. 

* Full access to all Teletext services and channels 
e.g.: CEEFAX, ORACLE, 4-TEL. 

* Gives you a real-time clock at your disposal 
(•TIME). 

* Software upgrades to allow for any enhancements 
to the Teletext service, e.g.: extra channels, full field 
data on cable & satellite systems etc. (only the media 
charge). 

* Easy to follow comprehensive user guides. 

‘ No hardware limitations, it can for example receive 
virtually unlimited numbers of channels. 

* Utils disc available including printer drivers allows 
pages to be selected and dumped direct to a printer 



(no more TV or Radio Times to buy). 

WHATTHE REVIEWERS SAID: 

**. . .In terms of price, performance, future expansion 
possibilities and those little touches that show 
thought for the end user I would recommend the 
Morley unit ."-(Acorn User, January, 1986). 

• -The Morley unit has been designed to ensure 
that its operation is simple and smooth. It is the ideal 
Teletext adapter for school use. m -(A&B Computing, 
June, 1986). 

• -Using it over a number of months in different 
schools, it has proved utterly reliable, and may 
confidently be recommended. H -^T/?e Times 
Educational Supplement, September, 1986) 

THIS ISTHE BIGGEST SELLINGTELETEXT 
ADAPTER CURRENTLYIN PRODUCTION 
WORLDWIDE, AND COMES WITH A FULL 
MONEY BACK SATISFACTION GUARANTEE. 


Now available! 
The first true 
MEGA capacity 
RAMdisc for the 
BBC, BBC B+ 
and MASTER 
computers. 

This fully 
compatible unit, 
currently 
available in 

... either 1 or 2 

megabyte versions comes complete with operating software on ROM, power 
supply, and a comprehensive user guide. 

FEATURES: 

One megabyte of RAM connected to the ImHz bus. Used with the supplied ROM 
software programs and files may be saved and loaded from the RAMdisc in the 
same manner as from a floppy disc with a large increase of speed, for example, a 
20k mode 0 screen takes about 3-4 seconds to load from disc and about 0 2-0 3 
seconds to load from the RAMdisc. The RAMdisc ROM operates as a utility ROM 


RAMDISC 

working with the current filing system rather than as a separate filing system. 
Therefore ensures compatibility with any Acorn compatible DFS (not ADFS). The 
RAMdisc can be selected by a * command to take the place of any drive number 
from 0 to 9. If the RAMdisc replaces a floppy drive as 0 for example, all 
commands addressed to drive 0 will be intercepted by the RAMdisc.' The default 
driye number is 4. Any ’Dangerous’ ‘commands such as ‘COMPACT, ‘COPY, 
‘BACKUP etc can be intercepted and the BBC’s RAM from page 2 to &7FFF 
saved to RAMdisc workspace, and may be recovered using a ‘command. This 
prevents accidental corruption of any programs/data in RAM you may have been 
using at the time. The filing system wedge ROM supplied supports load/save, 
byte file access, all relevant OSFSC commands, and contains a formatter verifier 
and 'sector' editor for use with the RAMdisc. Catalogue structure allows uo to 
2,688 files. 

Well that's the spec., add to this our usual 12 month no quibble guarantee and 
we’re sure you'll agree the Morley RAMdisc is the sensible alternative if increased 
storage capacity and speed is your requirement. 



EPROM 

PROGRAMMER V2 

The MORLEY EPROM PROGRAM- 
MER V2 is a small self contained 
unit that plugs into the BBC or 
MASTER user port. It comes with a 
high quality ZIF (zero insertion force 
socket) and contrasting plastic case. 
Also included in the package is it's 
own user friendly menu driven 
software on ROM or disc. 

This state of the art unit, allows 
programming of 2764 (8k), 27128 
(16k), and 27256 (32k) EPROMS. 
Not only does the hardware allow 
programming of the usual NMOS devices, but will handle the new generation 
CMOS equally as well, and with the average time taken to program a 16k at less 
than 30 seconds we believe it to be one of the fastest programmers 
available today. 

THEHARDWARE 

The Unit is completely under software control, there are no knobs or switches to 
baffle the novice, and the extended features provided should excite the pro’s 

THE SOFTWARE 

The comprehensive user friendly software included in the package has two main 
parts, the first allows EPROMS to be read, programmed, verified and edited, also 
allowing a ROM image to be loaded or saved to disc. The second is a full ROM 
management system in its own right, which has a host of useful features and 
routines, such as KILL and RESURRECT ROM to disable or enable a sideways 
ROM, dump ROM image to buffer or disc, move ROM image in buffer to sideways 
RAM, and VIEW-SEARCH any sideways ROM. 

The whole system is available now for less than the price of one WORDWISE 
chip. So get yourself the all new MORLEY EPROM PROGRAMMER V2 today 
and start using those expansion boards for what they were made for! ROMS. 

Immediate delivery no quibble 12 month guarantee. 



MASTER CARTRIDGE 

Designed and manufactured by Care Electronics to Acorn specifications. 

These high quality Master expansion cartridges will take two 16k sideways 
ROM's, and will, unlike similar cartridges available from other manufacturers, 
accept the new second generation programs, such as Computer Concepts 
Interword and Spellmaster ROM’s. 

These Cartridges come in a high quality, robust, formed-plastic case, that fits 


neatlv into either one of the Master's cartridge slots. 

QUADS also available quad cartridges specifications as duels but 
taking 4x1 6k roms. 


MASTER SMART 
CARTRIDGE 


This device was designed and manufactured jointly by Morley and Care 
Electronics. 

The Smart cartridge will at the press of a button halt any program running in 
memory and execute any one of a host of useful built in, or user defined 
procedures, and once completed will return to the program and continue where it 
left off. The only limiting factor with this device is the programmers imagination. 
The Smart cartridge will prive useful to the novice, allowing him to do the simple 
things like dump any screen to printer, and make backups of protected tape or 
disc based software, but has an open ended specification for the advanced 
’HACKER’ allowing advanced programming techniques to be incorporated into 
almost any program at the touch of a button. 

BUILT IN FEATURES (at the press of a button) 

Autosaves computer's entire memory. 

Freeze program at any point. 

Screen dump (any mode) to printer or disc. 

Allows any OSCLI command without disturbing memory. 

Copies 90% of protected software. 

Tape to disc, disc to tape. 

User friendly menu. 

Sound On/Off. ALL CARTRIDGES COME WITH A 

12 MONTH NO QUIBBLE WARRANTY 



MORLEY MASTER 


BOARD 'AA' 


At long last the add-on all MASTER users have been 
waiting for, an internal ROM board. 

No more need to turn the computer off to insert the 
cartridge containing the ROM you need to debug the 
program in memory. 

ThenewMORLEY MASTER BOARD "AA" allows 
you to have up to 8x1 6k and 4x32k extra Roms 
installed inside your MASTER and still leaves the 
cartridge slots free. This in effect allows your MASTER 
to support as many as 24, 16k ROMs installed 
permanently, whilst retaining the standard 4 x 
sideways ram banks and four banks by using car- 
tridges 

A staggering 32 ROM images installed and 
accessible at any time 



B.fflffl 


I 


m 


mu- 





fli M HLHLH H 


MfiRlEy 


EL E CT R O N I C S 











■US**' 






Included in the package is a utility ROM which has many useful features such as ’FICOPY’, a clever file transfer program that transfers files 
between DFS and ADFS formats or vice versa. 

So for less than the price of four external cartridges you get a MASTER BOARD "AA" which with twice the capacity has got to be THE ROM 
expansion for the serious MASTER user. 

The unit comes with the usual Morley, full no-quibble twelve months warranty, and our usual after sales service 


THECOMPLETERANGEOFTELETEXT 
SOFTWARE from M/B SOFTWARE 


• NEW . . . DESIGN 7 PLUS - now ’the best’ is even better. Held in high regard by reviewers and hundreds of satisfied owners, DESIGN 7 has 
been further improved, with revised keystrip & even more features. Design/load/save and MODE 7 screen with ease, up to full CEEFAX/Oracle 
standard. Will convert ANY MODE 7 screen to a BASIC procedure, for inclusion in your own programs. ROM version includes a file copier, printer 
dumps useable from BASIC etc. B/MASTER/COMPACT. 

TELETEXT EMULATORS/SCREEN DISPLAYS/INFORMATION SYSTEMS - A complete range of teletext programs to cater for all 
needs, with full teletext adapter interfacing. 

‘NEW . . . DESFAX - totally new version - streets ahead of the competition - run your own information/display system. Stores hundreds of 


screens on dual 80 track drives (96 screens on single-sided 40 track), with access to any screen with a SINGLE KEYPRESS. Lots of special 
effects - screens can scroll, slide, overwrite etc. Animation, loops, subroutines - send for details - not enough space here to even begin to 
describe the advanced features!! B/MASTER/COMPACT 


‘NEW . . . MASTERFAX - 84 MODE 7 screens in memory at once. 1 48 screens possible with cartridge RAM. An advanced teletext/carousel 
program featuring SINGLE KEYPRESS or 3-digit page selection Runs entirely from memory - no disc accesses after pages are loaded Superb 
animation and other effects. MASTER/COMPACT only. 


•NE W- 


VU-FAX - 1000 screens and no disc accesses! Screens stored on MORLEY 1 MByte RAM DISC. SINGLE KEYPRESS gives instant 


access to any screen (or emulate teletext). This is the ultimate MODE 7 screen management system - there is nothing else like it. MODEL B/ 
MASTER 128. 


‘ALSO . . . MASTERCOPV - DFS/DFS, DFS/ADFS, ADFS/DFS, ADFS/ADFS file copier. Uses the MASTER 1 28’s memory to the full to permit 
fast disc copying. 31 DFS files to ADFS disc in less than 2 minutes. Creates directories automatically. You will wonder how you ever managed 
without this program. Described by reviewers as ’unexcelled'. MASTER 128 and COMPACT’S fitted with DFS ROMS. 


ORDERFORM 

To order simply complete and return by post enclosing your Morley Electronics, Unit 3 Maurice Road Industrial Estate, Wallsend, Tyne 


cheque/P. O.madepayableto Morley Electronics, or by phone & Wear NE28 6BY Telephone Tyneside (091) 2627507 

duringofficehours, quoting your ACCESS or VISA number. Telex: 265871 A/B MONREF G (Quoting Mag 70211) 

ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT@ 15% 

P&P Rate 


P&P Rate 


Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 


_ Morley Teletext Adapters 1 19.83 

_ Optional Power Supply 10.12 

_Teletext Utilities on disc 5.98 

_ 1 Megabyte RAMdisc 199.87 

_2 Megabyte RAMisc 349.60 

_Eprom programmer V 2 34.50 

_ Master ROM boards "AA" 46.00 

_ Master Quad Cartridge 14.95 

_Care Master ROM cartridges 8.97 

_ Master Smart cartridge 39.79 


(a) 

(b) 

(c) 
(a) 

(a) 

(b) 
(b) 
(b) 
(b) 
(b) 


Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty 

Qty. 


M/B Software Design 7+ 9.89 

M/B Software Desfax 20.01 

_M/B Software DesROM 12.88 

M/B Software Mastercopy Disc 12.88 

M/B Software Mastercopy ROM 14.95 

_M/B Software Masterfax 29.90 

M/B Software VU-Fax System inc RAMdisc 249.78 

5.25" Floppy discs x 10 8.05 

27128 16k CMOS EPROM 4.83 

Info Pack + Demo Disc of all Software FREE 


(c) 

(c) 

(c) 

(c) 

(c) 

(c) 

(a) 

(c) 

(c) 

(C) 


Please delete 

Name 


Adapter software on ROM/Sideways RAM form at/Software on 40/80 trackdisc 
Phone no. 


Note Teletext Adaptors for Master Compact 138.00 (a) 


Address 



VISA 


Post Code 


Cheque No_ 


Access/Visa No 


Amount £ 


Please add Postage and Packing @ a=£3.00 b=£2.00 c=£1.00 d=£0.65 (when ordering more than one item, add P&P. on highest rate item only) 

GOVERNMENT, LOCAL AUTHORITY, AND TRADE ORDERS WELCOME. Please allow 28 days for delivery 









GS FROM Tl 

i?n ; 7 ^ rrTirT"rr , - i T"! ; •^n^ n ri fl r 


Mm 


THREE GOOD REASONS 
BUY THE NEC P2200 PRINTER 
FROM TWILLSTAR 

BUY ONE 


PRINTER 

PRINTER 

PRINTER 


CABLE 

STAND 

PAPER 


OFFICIAL NEC UK PRODUCTS 


WHY SPEND MORE FOR PROFESSIONAL RESULTS? 

Never before has a 24-pin dot-matrix printer in this price range combined such impeccable print quality with such practical, efficient 
flexibility. NEC's Pinwriter P2200 gives you the vital edge that will turn your printouts into the most impressive documents ever. 

The P2200 delivers letter-perfect print, in several sizes, at 56 characters per seconds (cps). Or switches to draft mode for high-volume 
outputs at 1 68 cps. And it gives you a vast selection of typeface options and superb graphic capabilities. 

P2200's excellence is revealed in one detail after another. Like the built-in tractor that permits push or pull feeding of continuous forms - 
with a tear bar for quick easy removal of receipts, packing slips, or other demand documents. And the front feed function that lets you 
insert cut sheets or continuous forms into the front of the printer. 

When you get right down to it, comparing performance against cost, Pinwriter P2200 is the most impressive printer in its class. The printer 
that offers executive-class printouts at budget prices. Like we said earlier, why spend more for professional results ? 


SPECIFICATIONS 
Print Rate 

• High-speed draft: 168 cps 

• Standard draft: I40cps 

• Letter quality: 56 cps 


Character sets 

• ASCII standard 

• IBM graphic 

• Italic 

• 96 user-defined characters 

• 1 3 language character sets 


OPTIONS AND SUPPLIES 
Paper Handling Devicer 

• Sheet Feeder 


Interface Board 

• Serial Interface Board 


Printhead 

• Impact. 24-pin dot matrix 

• 0.2mm diameter 

• 2x12 staggered array 


INCLUDES 

FREE PRINTER CABLE 

(for BBC, Master, Archmides, Electron, 
IBM Compatible Please specify) 

FREE PRINTER STAND 

FREE 200 SHEETS PAPER 

Exclusive of VAT 


Interface 

• Industry-standard parallel 

• RS-232C (optional) 


Font Cartridges 

• Letter Gothic 1 5 

• Letter Gothic 1 2 

• Bold Italic PS 

• Courier 15 

• Prestige Elite 1 2 

• Prestige Pica ! 0 

• Courier Light 10 

• Courier Light 12 

• OCR-A 

• Prestige Elite 1 2 WP 

• OCR-A/Bar Code 39 

• Helvette 1 0 PT. 


Input Buffer 

• 8K standard 


Vertical Line Spacing 

• 6 or 8 lines per inch (Ipi) 

• Programmable up to n/360 Ipi 


Graphic Resolution 

• Up to 360 x 360 dpi 


Resident Type Fonts and Variations 

• Draft Gothic: 10. 12, 15. 17. and 20 
pitches 

• LQ Courier: 10. 12. 15. 17. and 20 
pitches 

• LQ Bold Proportional Spacing : plus con- 
densed 

• LQ Super Focus: 10 and 17 pitches 

• LQ OCR-B: 10 and 17 pitches 

• LQ ITC Souvenir: 10 and 17 pitches 

• Italicization, emphasis, and enhance- 
ment electronically possible for all the 
above 

• True superscript/subscript 


Copy Printing Capacity 

• Original and two copies with copy 
control lever 


Paper Width/Weight 

• 5 top 10 inches/ 12 to 22 lbs. 

• 6.5 to 8.5 inches with sheet feeder 


Ribbon 

• Black Fabric 


SHEET FEEDER 

£ 59.00 
RIBBON £ 5.50 


Dimensions (W x H x D) 

• 390mm( 1 5.4"x 1 40mm(5.5")x280mm 

(II 0 ") 


raaiiauMiMiii 


HO W TO ORDER 

You can purchase any of the items above. All you have to do is write 
your requirements on a sheet of paper, and we will despatch your goods 
within ?A hours, subject to availability. 

Please add £ 8.00 for Postage and Packing. (UK Mainland only / 

All prices exclude VAT. Please add 15% VAT to all orders. 

Please make cheques payable to: TWILLSTAR COMPUTERS LTD. 
AccessA/isa Card Holders: Welcome. 

VISIT OUR CO MPU STORE OPEN 9am - 6pm Monday to Saturday 
Prices correct at time of going to press but subject to change without notice. 




. APEX HOUSE 
/ BLANDFORD ROAD 
NORWOOD GREEN 
SOUTHALL 
MIDD UB2 4HD 
® 01-574 5271 or 
S 01-571 5938 
Telex : 25247 Telex G.attn TIL 
Fax: 01-574 4326 






t 


■SMsMa 




FlFI 








EPROMS, 

8271 



Exc VAT Inc VAT 

1-9 27128 250nS 21V 

3.57 

4.10 

10* 27128 250nS 21V 

3.26 

3.75 

1-9 27128 250nS 12.5 V 

3.04 

3.50 

10 ♦ 27128 250nS 12.5V 

2.75 

3.16 

1-9 2764 250nS 

2.60 

2.99 

10 + 2764 250nS 

2.39 

2.75 

1-9 27256 250nS 

422 

4.85 

10+ 27256 250nS 

383 

4.40 

1-9 TTUCmos sot 

3.91 

4.50 

1-9 8271 controller 

39.13 

45 00 

1-9 6264 LP 150nS 

5.00 

5.75 

Acorn 8271 DFS 

.43 48 

50 00 

5V 4 DISC DRIVES 


Ex VAT 

Inc VAT 

Cumana CSX 100 

91.30 

105.00 

Curnana CSX40O 

124.35 

143.00 

Cumana CD800S 


299.00 

MD400A 400k No PSU 

88.70 

102 00 

MD400B 400k A PSU 

103 48 

119 00 

MD802C 800k No PSU 

173.91 

200 00 

MD802E 800k & PSU 

191 30 

220 00 

MD802O 800k ♦ Stand 

21652 

249.00 

Phone lor Viglen & Torch Winchesters 


MONITORS 



Ex VAT Inc VAT 

Philips CM8852 

251.30 

289 00 

PhHips BM7S02 Green 

65.22 

75 00 

Philips TV Tuner 

56.52 

65 00 

TaxanKX P31 Green 

68 70 

79 00 

TaxanKX 1 202 Green 

73.91 

85.00 

TaxanKX Ambor 

6870 

79 00 

Microvitoc 1451 

221.74 

255.00 

Microvltoc 1451 Ap 

. 260.00 

299 00 

(Prices Inc BBC Cable) 



PHILIPS CM8833 


with BBC cable 


£249.00 (£216.52 + VAT) 


ROMS 


Inter-Word 

Inter-Shoot 

Inter-Baso 
Wordwiso Plus . 
MEGA 3 
Spell Mastor 
View Spell 
View 3 ROM 

View 2.1 

View Storo 

Overview 181 1 
View Professional... 


Exc VAT 

37 39 

3652 

4870 

37 39 

7130 

40 87 

27 83 
55 65 

38 26 

38 26 

68 70 
68 70 


Inc VAT 

43 00 
42 00 
56 00 
43.00 
82 00 
47 00 
32 00 
64 00 

44 00 
44 00 
79 00 
79 00 


DISKETTES 

(lifetime warranty) 

Exc VAT Inc VAT 

10 Banana Rovorsible disks . 8 65 9 95 

10 3.5 O S tpi 9 90 11 00 

10 96 tpi D S D O ♦ case 13 90 15 99 

10 96tpi D/S D-Ot case 7 39 8 50 

10 96tpi D/S DO in box 6 52 7 50 

50 96 tpi D S D O m boxes 21 70 24 95 

100 96tp< D S D O in boxos 39 19 45 00 

50 Disc Box hinge lock 6 52 7.50 

100 Disc Box hlngo lock 7 83 9 00 

Black Library caso 1.21 1.39 

MASTER/COMPACT 

Ex VAT Inc VAT 

Mastor 128K Micro 346 96 399 00 

Archimedes 305 from 699 00 803 35 

512 Co-processor 185 00 212 75 

Turbo Upgrado 98 78 113 50 

Acorn Z80 2nd pro 31 7.39 365 00 

Acorn Cartridges 10.87 12 50 

Peartreo Carlrklgos from 8 65 9.95 

Care Cartridges trom 7 65 8 80 

View 3/Vlew Sheet guides 9 00 9 00 

ARM Assembler book 12.00 12 00 

Understanding Interword 6.50 6 50 

Referenco Manuals 14.00 14 00 

Mastor & BBC Dusl Covers 300 3 45 

Monochromo Compact 360.87 415 00 

Second user BBC Bs available 216.52 

Philips CM8833 with BBC cable 249.00 


PANASONIC KXP 1081 



with BBC cable & paper 

£159.00 (£138.26 + VAT) 

Above with Screen Dump & 2m cable 

£165.00 (£143.48 + VAT) 

Exc VAT Inc VAT 

KXP 1080 Fabric ink ribbon 4.26 4.90 

KXP 1080 View Printer driver ...7.83 9.00 

KXP 1080 Control Dump rom 13.00 14.95 


PANASONIC KXP1082 

(as 1081 but 160cps) 
with BBC cable & paper 

£189.00 (E164.35+VAT) 


VOLTMACE JOYSTICKS 

Exc VAT Inc VAT 

Delta 1 4B single 1 1 .26 1 2.95 

Delta 3B single 9.52 10.95 

Delta 3B twin 15.61 17.95 


CANON PW1080A 

with BBC cable & paper 


KAGA/TAXAN KP815 

with BBC cable & paper 

£179.00 (£155.65 + VAT) 


STAR LC10 COLOUR 

with BBC cable & paper 

£229.00 (£199.1 3+ VAT) 


STAR LC10 

with BBC cable & paper 

£199.00 (£173.04+ VAT) 


CITIZEN 120D & LSP10 

with BBC cable & paper 

£159.00 (£138.26+ VAT) 


EPSON LX800 

with BBC cable & paper 

£229.00 (£199.1 3+ VAT) 


JUKI 6100 

with BBC cable & paper 

£299.00 (£260.00+ VAT) 


MP165 

with BBC cable & paper 

£195.00 (£169.57 + VAT) 


Amstrad LQ3500 (24) 

with BBC cable & paper 

£299.00 (£260.00+ VAT) 


MP (480 cps) 

with BBC cable & paper 

£299.00 (£260.00 + VAT) 


PRINTER ADD ONS 


LX800 Shoot Feeder 

LX/FX800 Print Ribbon. .. 


Ex VAT 

62.61 

3.00 

Inc VAT 
72.00 
3.45 

LC- 10 Shoot Feodor 

NL- 10 Print Ribbon 


56.52 

.. . . 4 80 

65 00 
552 
53 00 

NL-10 Sheet Feeder 


47 83 

1200 Phnl Ribbon 


4 00 

400 

KP PW Print Ribbon 


339 

390 

Printer Dust Cover 



4 80 


PRINTERS/CABLES 

Ex VAT Inc VAT 

Panasonic KXP3131 Daisy 233.91 299.00 

Kaga/Taxan KP910/15 350.00 402.00 

1.5m (4 foot) BBC cable 5.70 C.50 

2.0m (6 foot) BBC cable 7.74 6.90 

Compact printer cable 7.74 8.90 

IBM/Archimedes cable 7.74 8.90 


Phone for our beat price before placing your order 

EDUCATIONAL & GOVERNMENT ORDERS WELCOME 
All products have a 12 month no quibble guarantee 
Prices subject to variation without prior notification 
We are closed some Saturday afternoons 
Carriage 92pJ80p + VAT) Securicor £6.90 (£6.00 + VAT) 

Acorn Dept. 


UleSeruB 


Larger items 
delivered 
by Securicor 


1 28 West Street, 

Portchester, 

Hants. 

POI 6 9XE. 

Tel: 0705 325354 





Menu Root 


From the beginning of time 
man has expressed himself 
through his designs 

NOW 

The Oak fully interactive 
PARAMETRIC DESIGN TOOL 
allows man to express 
himself more easily 

PDT is a 2D CAD system 
which incorporates the 
following features; 

★ The system is fully 
parametric 2D CAD 

★ Easy to use 

★ Menus always visible 

★ On line help 

★ Parametric editing 

★ Automatic associative 
dimensioning 

★ Zoom & Pan to 0.2 
nanometres 

★ Grid scaling 

★ Computerised simulation 

★ "What if" Experiments 

★ Text may be entered at 
any angle 

★ Sixteen drawing layers 

★ User configurable 

★ Drawings can be 
transfered to DTP or 
graphics packages 

★ Designed to run on 
the Acorn Archimedes 
310, 410, & 440 computers 

★ Output provided to HGPL 
compatible plotters and 
Epson MX, RX, FX 
compatible dot matrix 
printers 

★ Low cost only £295 ex vat 


Sett mgs 


0 »*'s ions 


F i i *r»9 


Plot 


flew Dwq . 


Exit 



®L^JI ^0 

| CROSS P ARK HOUSE. LOW GREEN. RAWDON. LEEOS LS19 6HA.TEL: (0532) 502615 


Product 

Price 

Annual systems 
maintenance 

Telephone 
hot line 
support 

VAT 

Total 

Price 

PDT 

295.00 

45.00 

25.00 

54.75 

419.75 

PDT 

295.00 

45.00 


51 00 

391.00 

PDT 

295.00 


25.00 

48.00 

368.00 

PDT 

295.00 



44.25 

339.25 


EDUCATION SUPPORT SUBSIDY. DETAILS ON REQUEST 
Please tick prefered method of payment 

I proler to pay by VISA Q ACCESS Q Please find enclosed a Chequo/Postal Order 


u 


1 Card 

J Expiry Date _ 


Signature 

Card Addross/Address 




E3 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


23 





signwriter/ 


instant display lettering £29.95 
from a dot-matrix printer (BBC version) 


* Signs printed across or down the page 

* Sharp characters any size - the bigger the better 

* Design logos, symbols on screen 

* Extra fonts £5.75 each: 


Fair 

Stop 


etc. 


Also available: 


LABELWRITER 

for mukipfe Uxfc 


PAPER BASE 

for btMo*rapWes 


Available from the pubteher 


WIGHT SCIENTIFIC 

♦4 Roan Street London SElO ?)T 

(01) 858 2699 


This advertisement printed A4-size with 16-bit SIGN WRITER 


BeebDOS version 2.01 (new) from M j croB oss 

Software for BBC and IBM file interchange 

Run* on IBM-PC-XT-AT or compatible* and support* DOS 2.0 or laier 

Supplied on 360K IBM diskette with manual and plastic wallet the software includes: 

ktoPY Copy files BBC - IBM. IBM - BBC. BBC - BBC (wUd cards allowed) 

BCONV Flexible IBM file translate facility enabling text to oe passed between VIEW. 

WORDSTAR and Displaywrite 3 amongst other uses. 

BGRAPH Display BBC mode 0.1, 4J5 screen formal (AMX An included) files on IBM standard 
colour (CGA), enhanced colour (EGA) or Hercules screens for use in IBM PC 
presentation. DTP, drawing and other graphic applications. 

BeebDOS is almost a complete BBC DFS/ADFS for the IBM PC with utilities to catalogue, format, 
backup, delete, lock, unlock, compact rename, alter title A options, msp free space, change and create 
directories of BBC diskette/Tdes. 

Infact BeebDOS is probably the fastest and most powerful 
BBC/IBM PC file transfer method available and no cables or 
serial connection* are required. 

BBC double density diskette formats supported are Acorn ADFS, Watford, Solidisk. OPUS DDOS and 
UDM. Acorn single density DFS is only supported when running BeebDOS on an IBM AT or XT286 
with a 360k disk drive. Please send or phone for an information sheet 

CHEQUE OR POSTAL ORDER TRADE/EDUCATION ENQUIRIES WELCOME 

MICROBOSS LTD 3 HADLEIGH RD FRINTQN ESSEX CQ13 9HG 'TEL (0255) 671095 FT1 


£46.00 

inc. VAT 



XYZ DRILLING / MILLING FROM C.A.D. 

I P.C.B. DRILLING DIRECT FROM C.A.D. I 

Yes you can now use your CAD to provide the drilling coordinates to save 
you hours of hand-drilling. 

Programs such as PROTEL; PADS -PCB; RACAL-REDAC. 

EE DESIGNER; LINTRACK (PC) all put out the information needed to 
automatically drill your PCB’s. 

LEEWOOD DEVELOPMENTS, LEEWOOD WORKS 

UPTON, CAMBS, (0480) 890 860 

Other CAD programs such as AUTOCAD, GENERIC CAD. PRO-DESIGN, can 
provide the data to drive the machine. 


IEEE488 INTERFACES FOR THE 
ACORN ARCHIMEDES AND 
SPRINGBOARD COMPUTER SYSTEMS 


The combination of Acorn 32 bit RISC Technology and Intelligent 
Interfaces hardware and software design results in a high 
performance interface which fully implements the IEEE Std 488 for 
communication with test and measurement instruments. 

Intelligent Interfaces designed, develop, manufacture and support 
the Acorn IEEE488 Interface for the BBC Model B, B+ and Master 
128 Microcomputers. 


Officially Appointed Acorn Scientific Dealer. 
Officially Appointed Compaq Dealer Associate. 



Intelligent Interfaces Ltd 

43b Wood Street Tel: 0789 415875 

Stratford-upon-Avon or 0703 261514 

Warwickshire CV37 6JQ Telex: 312242 MIDTLX G 


SOFTWARE Suitable for standard, Master Series and Archimedes Computers 


Business CASHBOOK Double Entry bookkeeping in memory for clubs £13 74 

CASHBOOK Double Enlry random access disc bookkeeping lor schools £22 95 

★ ★★ ACCOUNT Double Enlry random access bookkeeping with credil 

control, stalements. ledgers and analysis lor businesses £34 45 

ACCOUNT PLUS as above with data sort, aulo statement generator, invoice, order, quotations 
etc mail shot memo elc £57.44 

MICRO-TRADER The complete BBC accounts system. (Demo disc £25) £230.00 

MICRO-STOCK 4000 items suitable lor use with Micro-Trader £86 25 

★ ★★ RANDOM MAILING mail merge. 5 sorts, 1.2, or 3 across labels £3445 

**★ EXTENDED PAYROLL “impressive package - Micro User" 

1. 2. 4 weekly & monthly, contracted in & oul, 3 overtime. 

personnel file. 2 payslip formats, plu. plus £57.44 

★ ★* SPECIALTHREE STAR OFFER-ALL THREE STAR PROGRAMS £89.95 

Genealogy FAMILY TREE 340/750 people 100/250 marriages Ancestral, dependants & family 

(racing wilh lull tree printout, sorted list. Review in Feb '87 issue £19 95 

★ ★NEW** FAMILY TREE 3500/6000 people 1500/2000 marriages Archimedes £24 95 

Statistics STATPACK the slats package for students. 30 results £13.74 

DFS/ADFS We convert your DFS discs to ADFS Master or Archimedes D/L formal £4.50 

ROMS INTER-BASE The latest ROM Irom Computer Concepts £4995 

INTER-CHART data display "Quite clever - well, very clever" £29 99 

INTER-SHEET spreadsheet "Not bad! - il's the best" £44 99 

INTER-WORD "The WYSIWYG super wordprocessor I use & teach" £47.00 

SPELL-MASTER Thelaslest, largest spelling checker anywhere £49 95 

W0RDWISE PLUS "Programming lacililies lhal others haven’t got" £44 99 

SYSTEM DELTA "The cleverer than clever program language database" £6295 

SYSTEM DELTA extended programming language manual £19 95 

EPROMMERS UVIPACEprom Programmer 32k Programmer £2095 

UVIPACEprom Eraser £20.95 

Toolkit Eprom Blower Software on ROM £7.95 


COMPUTERS CAMBRIDGE Z88 128K Lap-top computer 

AMSTRAD PCI 51 2 Dual Disc Drive Mono complete with £300 software 
AMSTRAD PCI 51 2 Dual Disc drive Colour complete with " software 
★ ★ NEW* ★ AMSTRAD PPC640 Lab lop IBM PC compatible portable 

AMSTRAD CPC664 Green Screen monitor and Wordprocessor ROM 
ADLER ALPHATR0NIC C/PM computer wilh FI Disc Drive 
BBC/IBM/BBC Description ol how lo send data between the two machines 
PRINTERS DYNEER DW20 15" Daisy wheel serial printer. High quality machine 
RIBBONS. FX, RX, LX-80. 120D, GLP. Amstrad, Shinwa trom 
PRINTER CABLE Suitable for BBC/Eleclron lo parallel printers 
DISCS DISC DRIVE 800k Opus or similar twin double sided cased 

DISCS 5 25" 10 Double sided/densily 40/80 tracks colours boxed 
DISCS 3 5" 10 branded double sided highest quality, boxed 
LISTING PAPERBox 2000 fanfold perforated 11" x 9 5" 60gsm (None cheaper?) 

Box 2000 fanfold micro-perforated A4 80 gsm (None better?) 

LABELS For Mailing 2000 2 across 3 5"x 1 .4375 
For Mailing 1000 3 across 2. 75x1.4375 
For Disc labelling 500 1 across 5" x 15/16" 


£289.00 
£593.47 
£771.69 
£44900 
£199 00 
£17500 
£495 
£22500 
£350 
£7 50 
£22500 
£1095 
£14.95 
£1345 
£23.45 
£1145 
£6.50 
£2.95 


Business Programs 


Payroll and Wages 

iventh y eSr. The only BBC program for wages, tax anlrflational li 

mnlm/onc rnuorinn lA/nol/lw II *L_ i. . . 


Now in its seventh y e3f. The only 

up to 400 employees covering Weekly, Fortni 


Insurance for 


.v, w„, K ,w,ww» w.uuny MDomjr, i wm lightly, Four weekly or Monthly pay whether 
contracted in or out. Accepts up to 46 items of data per employee in two parts, Pay and 
personnel, prints out P35 data, personal information per employee for P45 and P60 forms, 
idard, regular pay or compilation of pay 

- - — . 'unds, sick-pay, SMP, SSP, holiday pay. a ..u 

POSt-tax adjustments and even no pay. Three summaries, two different types of payslips 


pei , 

The Payroll accepts standard, regular pa' 
overtime rates, pension funds, sick-pa 1 J 


or compilation of pay from hourly, three 
,4D ec6 — bonuses, pre and 


and optional coin analysis. Annual contract 
which keeps you up to date 
with the budget changes. 

Twin NCR payslips. 

Send for demo disk. 


£49.95 + VAT 


Bookkeeping 


1) Double entry bookkeeping (or home or club use. All data CH H 

kept in memory. Three character analysis code enables you * * 

to know where the money comes from and where it goes. 48 
transactions per A4 page. Analysis summary of up to 30 
categories. £10 

2) As 1 ) + Random Access giving 2000 items. CASK/BANK ** 

or VAT/BANK headings. Password controlled. String sear- 
ches. For schools, clubs, churches, non credit business. POft 

3) As 2) + Credit facility and statements. For small working £.£3 
on credit businesses. 

4) As 3) + Invoicing, Orders. Quotations, etc. Full sorting of 

data by 5 options. Automated statements, mailing labels. CMQ 
Multiple automatic nominal ledgers. For independent schools 
and VAT businesses who wish to cut the effort. 

5) Micro-Trader is a full accountancy package with features 

right through to final Balance Sheet. Stock Control at £75 + £200 

VAT extra. For shops/firms wanting full accounting facilities. 

Payroll can be integrated. 


95+ VAT 
95+ VAT 
95+VAT 
94+VAT 
00+VAT 


Mailing 

Multiple labels, mail merge and sorts. £11.95 or £29.95 + VAT 

Family History £1 9.95 inc 
Archimedes Version £24.95 inc 


Ask for detailed brochure for more software and other items. 
Prices include VAT. Add 57p for p/p. Printers add £9.95 


As lar as we know the only genealogical program tor the BBC written and sold by 
genealogists tor genealogical enthusiasts. 


Micro- Aid 


(AU), 25 Fore Street, Praze, 

Camborne, Cornwall TR14 0JX 
or telephone 0209-831274 with ACCESS 



Send for full brochure of these & other items. 
Demo payroll disk £2.50. Postage add 57p. 


24 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 








THE PUBLISHER 


Permanent Memory Systems 

38 MOUNT CAMERON DRIVE 
EAST KILBRIDE G74 2ES 
SCOTLAND 


03552-32796 


(24 hour) 


A NO-NONSENSE, NO-GIMMICK DESKTOP PUBLISHING SYSTEM 

★INTEGRATES WITH YOUR EXISTING WORDPROCESSOR 
★SIMPLE BUT POWERFUL PAGE DESCRIPTION COMMANDS 
★ON-SCREEN PREVIEW FROM WORDWISE, VIEW & INTER-WORD 

THE PUBLISHER is a single, massive 64K ROM which holds the controlling 
software and 16 FONTS. Being ROM based, THE PUBLISHER is instantly 
available, no disc access required. PREPARE, PREVIEW and PRINT all from 
WITHIN your wordprocessor. £39 4- £1 P&P + VAT = £46 INC. 
CONTACT PMS FOR FULL DETAILS, SCREEN-SHOT AND SAMPLE PRINTOUT 

ANOTHER QUALITY PRODUCT FROM PMS 


YOUR WISH... 

..IS MY COMMAND 

"stunning'', "superb", "well written"... 
unanimously praised by reviewers 

The PROFESSIONAL "POP-UP" for the 
BBC Micro. 

ADDRESS BOOK, CALCULATOR, 
CALENDAR, PHONE BOOK, 
NOTEPAD, all you need to get organised! 


Battery-hacked 
£79.35 + £2 P&P 

Disk/ROM based 
GENIE Junior 
£25 + £1 P&P 
GENIE Watch RTC 
£29.90 + £1 P&P 

Utilities disk 
£9.95 + £1 P&P 

(PRICES INC VAT) 


STARTS JULY 18th 



ENDS AUGUST 31st 



SUMMER SALE 


MENTOR THE MASTER COMPATIBLE SYSTEMS 

Model No 2801 Master compatible with one 40/80 disc drive 

PLUS FREE second 40/80 disc drive £475.00 p&p £1 4.00 

Model No 2802 Master compatible with two 40/80 disc drives 

PLUS FREE hi res mono monitor £575.00 p&p £1 4.00 

Model No 2820 Master compatible with one 40/80 disc drive 
one 20 Megabyte hard disc drive PLUS FREE 

Panasonic KXP1081 printer with lead £895.00p&p £14.00 

Model No M2802 Master compatible with two 40/80 disc drives 
and a hi res monochrome monitor PLUS FREE 

Morley Master AA romexpansion board £664.00p&p£14.00 

Model No MC2802 Master compatible with two 40/80 disc drives 
and a medium resolution colour monitor 

PLUS FREE Morley teletext adaptor £864.00 p&p £14.00 

Mentor Computer Systems are fully Acorn compatible they are used in industry, 
commerce, education and in the home they have all the same I/O ports as the 
Master and will accept all co processors add ons and econet. 

LAS T REMAINI NG SANYO PR3000 

£75.00 TO CLEAR 

This compact daisywheel printer with 
bidirectional printing for use with 
home and business computers 
provides 8 characters/second 
printing, 80 characters/line, with 
either 10 or 12 characters/inch. 

[Parallel (Centronics compatible) 

interface. 

Cased 40/80 half height.double sided Mitsubushi disc drive PLUS FREE 

10 diskettes or 10 games diskette £89.00p&p£5.00 

Cased Dual 40/80 half height.double sided, Mitsubushi disc drive 
PLUS FREE lockable disc storage unit & 10 diskettes 

or 20 games on two diskettes £1 78.00 p& p £6.00 

WE REGRET THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO ACCEPT ACCESS OR VISA FOR SALE ITEMS 

NON SALE ITEMS 

OAK WINCHESTER DISC DRIVE SYSTEMS 

Comprise of; Winchester unit.case, switch mode power supply.controller card.host 
adaptor, all cables. user guide and hard disc utilities. 

All Oak Winchester are fully ADFS compatible. 

20 Mebabytesystem(will not accept 2nd hard disc) £399.00p&p£10.00 

20 Megabyte system £495.00p&p £1 0.00 

40Megabytesystem £695.00 p&p £10.00 

60 Megabyte system £795.00 p&p £10.00 

Second Winchester Drive 1 cased with cables 

20 Megabyte Drivel £395.00 p&p £10.00 

40 Megabyte Drivel £595.00 p&p £10.00 

60 Megabyte Drivel £695.00 p&p £10.00 

OAK DISC DRIVES FOR THE BBC COMPUTER 

Oak disc drive systems comprise of: Mitsubushi double sided disc drives capable 
of both single and double density. 40/80 track switchable, metal case colour 
matched to the BBC Computer, all cables, manual and utilities disc. 

Single disc drives see sale data above. 

New Product cased dual 40/80 switchable disc drive system 

with switcheson front panel £180.00p&p£8.00 

New Product cased dual 40/80 switchable disc drive system 

including power supply with switcheson front panel £21 5.00 p&p £8.00 

New Product cased dual drives one 40/80 switchable 51/4 inch 

and one31/2inchdiscdrive(switchat rear) £175.00 p&p £8.00 

New Product cased dual drives one 40/80 switchable 51/4 inch 

andone31/2 inch disc drive(switch on front panel) ....£190.00 p&p £8.00 

New Product cased dual disc drives one 40/80 switchable 51/4 inch 
and one 31/2 inch disc drive with PSU 

(switcheson front panel) £225.00 p&p £8.00 

SECOND HAND COMPUTERS 

Oak Mentormodel 2802 good condition 12monthguarantee £499.00p&p£14.00 

OakMentormodelMC2802.asnew, 12monthguarantee £699.00 p&p £14.00 

Oak Mentormodel M2802.ambermonitor.12monthguarantee £589.00p&p £14.00 

Master 128computer, good condition. 12 monthguaratee £295.00 p&p £8.00 

BBCmodelB.issue7board. Acorn DFS, 12monthguarantee £289.00 p&p £8.00 

BBC model B,issue4 board. Acorn DFS. 12month guarantee £249.00p&p£8.00 

BITS AND PIECES 

New uncased 40/80, half height, double sided. Mitsubushi 

disc drive 12monthSguarantee £67.00 p&p £5.00 

BBC upgradekit(processor& keyboard housings) £29.00 p&p £5.50 

Singlediscdrivecase £7.00p&p£2.50 

Dualdiscdrivecase £14.00 p&p £2.75 

Dual discdrivecase with provision for PSU £19.50p&p£3.25 

Hard disc case with provisions for PSU & FAN £29.00 p&p £3.25 

Discdrivepowersupplyforabovedualdrivecase £35.00p&p£4.00 

Harddiscpowersupplyforabovecase £45.00p&p£4.00 

Uncased 20 Megabyte hard disc ST225N £235.00p&p £8.00 

Oak Hard disc host adaptor& software ADFScomp , £55.00p&p£3.00 

Si ngle power cable £2.95 p&p £1 .00 

Dual powercable £3.65p&p£1.00 

Singledatacable £3.95p&p£1.00 

Dualdatacable £5.95p&p£1.00 

BBC B AND BBC B PLUS SPARES MASTER SPARES 

Keyboard £25.00 p&p £3.50 Keyboard £56.00 p&p £3.50 

Powersupplies £38.00 p&p £3.50 

Plastic cases £1 2.00p&p £3.00 

1 7 way keyboard connector .. £1 .00 p&p £0.50 

Plastic key strip £2.00p&p£1.00 

Speakergrill £1.00p&p£0.50 

Speakerassembly £2.75p&p£0.50 

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE If you are not completely satisfied(Goods are returned by insured 
parcel post, postage paid, goods should be in as new condition and returned within 10 working 
days). PRICES EXCLUDE VAT U.K. Customers please add 15% to Total cost + p&p). 


Motherboard £246.00 p&p £3.50 

Powersupply £51. 00 p&p £3.50 

Speaker assembly . £2.75 p&p £0.50 

Battery pack £2.75p&p£0.50 

NON SALE ITEMS EDUCATION AND 
VOLUME DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE 


LOCAL GOVERNMENT, 

GOVERNMENT AND 

■■SP EDUCATION AUTHORITY 
t=l ORDERS ACCEPTED 



OAK COMPUTERS, CROSS PARK 
HOUSE, LOW GREEN, RAWDON, 
LEEDS LS19 6HA.TEL:(0532)502615 
TLX:51311 RELAYS G. 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


25 




AVON COMPUTER EXCHANGE 


MAILORDER 


OTHER 


BRANCHES 


BRISTOL: 42 Cannon St, Bedminster 

Tel: (0272) 657981 (4 lines) 
CARDIFF: 87 City Rd 

Tel: (0222)483069/471600 
SWINDON: 31 Faringdon Rd 

Tel: (0793)51207413 


THE PRICE YOU SEE IS THE PRICE YOU PAY 


GUARANTEED NO VAT NO CARRAIGE NO SURCHARGES NO AIRPORT TAX NO MOT NO ARTIFICIAL FLAVOURINGS 


PHILLIPS MONITORS 


COLOUR 

MONOCHROME. 


£199 
... £79 


LOCKABLE DISK BOXES 


ZVz" HOLDS 90 DISCS £9.95 

5V4" HOLDS 30 DISCS £7.95 


Panasonic 



KX-P1081 £159 

★ 120 COS DRAFT 

★ 24 CPS NLQ 

★ SWITCHABLE FONTS 

★ TRACTOR & SINGLE SHEET 

★ CENTRONICS 


UNBRANDED DISKS 


PER 10 

DOUBLE SIDED DOUBLE DENSITY 5V 4 " £5.00 

DOUBLE SIDED DOUBLE DENSITY 3V 2 " £1 1 .95 


LIFE-TIME GUARANTEE PER 10 
SINGLE SIDED DOUBLE DENSITY 3%" £1 2.95 

DOUBLE SIDED DOUBLE DENSITY 3V 2 " £1 6.95 
DOUBLE SIDED DOUBLE DENSITY 5W' 9.00 


i(c mr LC-10 £1 79 


COLOUR VERSION 
£239 



★ 120 CPS DRAFT 

★ 30 CPS NLQ 

★ 4K BUFFER 

★ TRACTOR & SINGLE SHEET 


B 


rchimedes 


A305 BASE £703.85 

MONO £761.35 

COLOUR £933.85 

A310 BASE £791.25 

MONO £848.75 

COLOUR £1021.25 


NEC 


PINWRITHR P2200 



£329 

★ 140 CPS DRAFT 

★ 47 CPS LETTER QUALITY 

★ 24 PIN 

★ TRACTOR & SINGLE SHEET 

★ CIT SHEET FEEDER - AVAILABLE 


WESTERN DIGITAL HARD CARDS 


21 MBYTES £219 WITH 

32 MBYTES £269 EXTRA 

43 MBYTES £299 SOFTWARE 


m CITIZEN 



120D £139 

★ 120 CPS DRAFT 

★ 24 CPS NLQ 

★ TRACTORS SINGLE SHEET 

★ CENTRONICS 


ATARI 520 STFM £269 

ATARI 520 STFM (SUMMER 

PACK) £349 

ATAR1 1 040 STF (with built in 

modulator) £449 

COMMODORE AMIGA A500 £389 


LAZER 


PRINTERS 


CITIZEN OVERTURE £1395 

EPSON GQ 3500 £1495 

CANNON LBS82 £1895 


132 COLUMNS PRINTER 


OMP4000 £299 

CITIZEN HQP45 24 PIN £599 

GAKKEN DAISYWHEEL £199 


ALL SLOGGER PRODUCTS AVAILABLE FROM STOCK 

AMSTRAD ★ ACORN ★ ATARI ★ COMMODORE ★ PANASONIC 
CITIZEN ★ STAR ★ NEC ★ OPUS ★ PSION 


FREE NEXT DAY DELIVERY ANYWHERE IN MAINLAND 

ONLY ON 
ORDERS OVER 


£100 


AUTHORISED 


DEALER FOR 




26 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 






















B-SWEEP 

NOW PLOT THE ACTUAL 
FREQUENCY RESPONSE 
OF YOUR CIRCUIT! 

Ideal for schools, colleges 
and Industry 

★ 1 00Hz-20KHz phaselocked sinewave oscillator controlled by BBC 
micro software. 

★ Output up to 1 volt r.m.s. 

★ Accurate A.C. to D.C. converter. 

★ Precision voltage reference for accurate use of micro A/D. 

★ Housed in compact unit powered from micro. 

★ Full instructions with program listings. 

For B, B+ and Master £95 incl. VAT & P/P 


MELFORD DESIGNS LTD. 

5 Bucknalls Drive, Bricket Wood, St Albans AL2 3XJ 
Tel: 0923 672008 



! 

Ha 

i 

■T;i 

-r-rl 



Ur 

k 

! 

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- 4-U. 



l-f 

fll 

ji 



« — ~~ .-i— I 1 1 . i i 

t.i ».» i » 


MESSAGE MASTER 


For bulletin board users. Help Reduce lengthy phone 
calls by preparing messages off-line and then 
transmitting them error free to the bulletin board(s) of 
your choice. Message can be written with a 
wordprocessor like View or Word wise, or using the 
editor provided. Once a message has been written it can 
be saved away onto disk for further editing or 
transmission. For the BBC B 6c Master 128. Only S8! 

Please state 40/80 track when ordering, or send a SAE 
for full details. 


© H © J|]= 


0 TJ Qua (TaaflOoffiflo 

B,0O«0dQ0tr 
MW 0(Off 



ALPHA 
M I C R OTEC 


OFFICIAL ACORN DEALERS FOR THE 

WEST MIDLANDS 

TOGETHER WITH ACORN COMPUTERS 
INVITE YOU TO 

ARCHIMEDES IN ACTION 

A PRESENTATION EVENING AND SOFTWARE 
EXHIBITION AT 

THE LIBRARY THEATRE, HOMER RD., 
SOLIHULL, WEST MIDLANDS 

ON 

JUNE 28TH 4PM -9PM 

— SEE THE ARCHIMEDES 300 AND 400 SERIES WITH A WIDE RANGE OF 
APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE. 

— SPEAK TO EXPERTS FROM ACORN AND ALPHA MICROTEC 

— TRY OUT FOR YOURSELF THE FASTEST COMPUTER IN THE WORLD 

CALL IN AT ANY TIME DURING THE EVENING OR VISIT ONE OF THE 
SPECIALIST DEMONSTRATIONS IN THE THEATRE . 

CONTACT 

ALPHA MICROTEC LTD, 321 STRATFORD ROAD, 
SHIRLEY, WEST MIDLANDS B90 3BL 
TEL: 021 -745 8998 

(HOURS OF BUSINESS 9.15 - 6PM TUESDAY - SATURDAYS) 

TO RECEIVE YOUR OWN INVITA TION TO THIS EXCITING LOCAL 
EVENT AND TAKE PART IN OUR 

PRIZE DRAW 

AND WIN A CASE OF WINE 



1 


DISC 

RRP 

TAPE 

5.25 ELECTRON! 


STRIP POKER 2 
SPITFIRE 40 
SCRABBLE 
REPTON THRO TIME 
MONOPOLY 
APOCALYPSE 


SUPERIOR 

MANDARIN 


ANCO 

MIRRORSOFT 
LEISURE GENIUS 
SUPERIOR 
LEISURE GENIUS 
INFOCRAMMES 


KOURTYARD 

SPYCAT 

BONECRUNCHER 

QUEST 

PLAY IT AGAIN SAM 2 
SPELLBINDER 


GODAX 

SUPERIOR 

SUPERIOR 

SUPERIOR 

SUPERIOR 

SUPERIOR 


9 95 T 
II 95 D 
9 95 T 
17 95 

10 99 D 
B 99 T 

14 95 D 
9 95 T 
9 95 T 

11 99 D 
9 95 T 
9 95 D 
7 95 T 

1 2 95 D 
9 95 T 
14 95 D 

12 95 T 

7 95 D 
6 95 T 

14 95 D 
12 95 T 
14 95 D 
9 95 T 

8 95 T 
12 95 D 

9 95 T 
12 95 D 
14 95 D 

9 95 T 
9 95 T 

I I 95 D 
9 95 T 

14 95 D 
12 95 T 
9 95 T 
14 99 O 
9 99 T 

II 95 D 
9 95 T 

I I 95 D 
9 95 T 

II 95 D 
9 95 T 

11 95 D 
9 95 T 
11 95 D 
9 95 T 
It 95 D 
9 95 T 


7 SO 
7 50 


8 SO 
6 50 
8 50 
10 95 
S SO 
10 95 


8 SO 
7 95 
7 00 
7 00 
7 00 
7 00 
7 00 


12 95 

9 99 
7 95 
1 1 50 
12 95 
6 50 
12 95 
12 95 

10 95 


10 50 
12 95* 

12 99 
10 50 
9 00- 
9 00- 
9 00* 
9 00 ‘ 
9 00* 


7 00 
7 00 
7 00 
7 00 
7 00 


AT THESE PRICES WHY GO 
ELSEWHERE FOR 
ACORN SOFTWARE? 


GRANDPRIX 

REVS 

WINTEROLYMPICS 

PHANTOM 

PAPERBOY 


SUPERIOR 

SUPERIOR 

TYNESOFT 

TVNESOFT 

ELITE 


1 I 95 D 
9 95 T 
14 95 D 
12 95 T 
14 95 D 
9 95 T 
12 95 D 
7 95 T 
14 95 D 
9 95 T 


UTILITY SOFTWARE 


FLEETSTREETEDITOR 
MINI OFFICE 2 

SPELL MASTERROM 
WORDWISE PLUS ROM 
INTERWORD ROM 
INTERSMCFT ROM 
INTERBASE ROM 


MIRRORSOFT 

DATABASE 


VTI <.OOHMOTH4CH 


iSMTI <.0< 

59 00 
56 55 
56 55 
56 55 
56 55 


54 95 
14 95 

. I tf MON »t>D V W)'.NOS. 

55 00 
51 55 
51 55 
51 55 
51 55 


EDUCATION 


ANSWERBACK JUNIOR 
ANSWER BACKSENIOR 
IDENTIFYEUROPE 
ANIMAL VEC MIN 
HAPPYLETTERS 
HAPPY NUMBERS 
HAPPY WRITING 
WORLDWISE 


KOSMOS 

KOSMOS 

KOSMOS 

BOURNE 

BOURNE 

BOURNE 

BOURNE 

BOURNE 


10 95 D 
9 9S T 
10 95 D 
9 95 T 

8 95 D 
7 95 T 

14 95 D 

9 95 T 
14 95 D 

9 95 T 
14 95 D 
9 95 T 
14 95 D 
9 95 T 
14 95 D 
9 95 T 


8 95 

7 95 

8 9S 
7 95 
7 95 

6 95 
12 95 

7 95 

1 2 95* 

8 95 
12 95* 

0 25 
I? 95- 

a 95 

12 95- 
8 95 


ORDERING DETAILS 


All prices include VAT & P&P 
(please add £ 1 . 50 for overseas orders) 

‘ Add £2 to 5 1 a disc price for 3-5 

Cheques and POs made payable to - Telemap Ltd 

Bytemail (Deptmu) 

Durrant House 
8. Herbal Hill 
London EC 1 R 5EJ 
Tel: 01-278 3143 


Jr 


TUI .UMAP GROUP LTD 


Acc**s 





VISA | 


Access and Visa welcomed 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


27 










NEVER SLEEPS 


TELEPHONE: 0276-22677 

01-441 2922 (Office Hours) 


24 HOURS A DAY 
7 DAYS A WEEK 
FAX: 

0276-684716 
01-440 7033 


EDUCATIONAL ENQUIRIES ARE MOST WELCOME 

CARRIAGE ON 
ANY ITEM 
POST £3.00 
COURIER £10.00 


PHONE YOUR ORDER NOW WITH CONFIDENCE 
WE GUARANTEE TO MATCH PRICES OFFERED 
THROUGH ANY OTHER SUPPLIER 


ALL MAJOR 

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED 

* 


BBC MASTER SERIES 


Master 128 


£ 374.00 

Master Turbo Upgrade 


£ 99.00 

Master 512 upgrade 


£ 199.00 

Eprom Cartridge 


£ 1 1.00 

Reference Manual Part 1 


£ 14.95 

Refeience Manual Part 2 


£ 14.95 

Advanced Reference Manual 


£ 19.95 

View Manual 


£ 10.00 

ViewSheet Manual 


£ 10.00 

Disk Filing System User Guide 


£ 5.00 

Plynth for Master 


£ 12.00 

Joystick (switched) 


£ 15.00 

ACORNSOFT 

View ROM 


£ 37.00 

ViewSheet ROM 


£ 37.00 

ViewStore ROM 


£ 37.00 

VtewSpeii ROM 


£ 29.00 

GXR Gratics ROM 


£ 26.00 

ISO Pascal ROM 


£ 60.00 

Basic 2 ROM 


£ 15.00 

OS 1 2 ROM 


£ 10.00 

Viewlndex 


£ 12.00 

ViewPlot 


£ 22.00 

Hivtew 


£ 36.00 

Printer Driver Generator 


£ 10.00 

Speech Upgrade 


£ 39.00 

ADFS Rom 


£ 25.00 

1770 DFS upgrade 


£ 49.00 

COMPUTER CONCEPTS 

Wordwise ♦ 


£ 40.00 

Intersheet 


£ 37.00 

Interword 


£ 39.00 

Inlerchart 


£ 26.00 

interbase 


£ 55.00 

Disc Doctor 


£ 28.00 

PrmtMaster 


£ 24.00 

Communicator 


£ 49.00 

Termi II 


£ 25.00 

Accelerator 


£ 48.00 

SpellMaster 


£ 47.00 

Edword 2 ROM 


£ 46.00 

A I PL Sidewise Board 


£ 39.00 

AMX Mouse 


£ 59.00 

AMX Pagemaker 


£ 37.00 

ECONET EQUIPMENT 

Upgrade tor 



BBC B £ 60.00 

10 Station Lead Set £ 25.00 

Module lor 

100m Cable 

£ 86.00 

Master/Archie £ 43.00 

Installation 


Clock ♦ Term Set £ 86.00 

(per day) 

£ 150.00 

Outlet Socket Kit £ 26.00 

Filestore E01 


Level i Sofiware £ 80.00 

(server) 

£ 828.00 

Level 2 Sofiware £ 216.00 

Filestore E20 


Printer Server £ 42.00 

(20Mbyte) 

£ 721.00 

DISK SYSTEMS 


Acorn Winchester 

30 Mbyte w.th L3 S/W 


£ 1549.00 

Cumana Disk Systems for BBC 


Single without PSU 



CSX 100 

40T/SS 

1 00 K 

£ 89.00 

CSX400 

80T/DS 

400K 

£1 19.00 

Single with PSU 
CS100 

4on-ss 

100K 

£ 109.00 

CS400 

80T/DS 

400K 

£ 139.00 

CS354 

3 5 

400K 

£1 19.00 

Dual with PSU 
CD200 

40T/SS 

200K 

£ 199.00 

CD800S 

80T/DS 

800K 

£ 239.00 

CD358 

35 

800K 

£ 199.00 

CAB29 

20MByte 

Hard Disk 

£ 599.00 

Cumana Disk Systems for Atari 


CSA 354 

3.5" 

Single 1MByte 

£ 125.00 

CDA 358 

3.5" 

Dual 2MByte 

£ 225.00 

CSA 1000S 

5.25" 

Single 1 MByte 

£ 145.00 


ACORN ARCHIMEDES 


Base 

Mono 

Colour 


Baso 

Mono 

Colour 


Base PC Emulator 
Mono PC Emulator 
Colour PC Emulator 


Baso 

Mono 

Colour 


Mono 

Colour 


0 5 Mbyte Ram 
Floppy Disk 

20 Mbyte + Controller 
Podulo Backplane 

1 OPodule 

PC Emulator Software 
Archie Reference Guide 


C649.00 

C699.00 

C849.00 


C72S.OO 

C77S.OO 

C925.00 

C79&.00 

C84S.OO 

C999.00 

Cl 299.00 
Cl 349.00 
Cl 499.00 


C2199.00 
C2249.00 
C 2399.00 


C89.00 
Cl 25.00 
C499.00 
C35.00 
C79.00 
C79.00 
C29.95 




AMSTRAD COMPUTERS 


PCI 640SD Mono 
PCI 640DD Mono 
PC1640HD20 Mono 

PCI 640SD Colour 
PCI 640DD Colour 
PC1640HD20 Colour 

PC1640SD Enhanced Colour 
PC1640DD Enhanced Colour 
PC1640HD20 Enhanced Colour 

1640 Technical Ref Manual 
LQ3500 

DMP3160 Printer 
DMP4000 
Modem Card 
HD20 Add-on 


Wordstar 1512 
Wordstar Express 
Supercalc 3.1 
Supercalc 3.21 
Reflex 
Sidekick 
Infomaster 
Accounts Master 
Paymaster 

PCW8256 
PCW8512 
PCW 9512 


C 449.00 

£ 549.00 

£ 799.00 

£ 599.00 

£ 699.00 

£ 949.00 

£ 749.00 

£ 799.00 

£ 1099.00 


£ 19.95 

£ 349.00 

£ 199.00 

£ 349.00 

£ 149.00 

£ 449.00 


£ 49.00 

£ 69.95 

£ 49.00 

£ 69.00 

£ 69.95 

£ 29.00 

£ 69.00 

£ 149.00 

£ 49.00 


£ 299.00 

£ 399.00 

£ 499.00 


BBC ‘B’ (2nd User) 
PRICES FROM £175 
3 Months Warranty 

PLEASE CALL FOR AVAILABILITY 


BARGAIN BASEMENT 


Apple Disk with Controller 
Applo Additional Disk Drive 
Duodisk with Controller 
Applo Monitor 
Supor Serial Card 
Cirtoch 80 Column T ext Card 
Cirtoch 80 Column 64K Card 
Cirtoch Printer Card 
Sound i Vision Modulator 
RGB colour card 
Applcworks 
Workbench 
JukiCtOOprintor 
TECF10-40 

Acorn ZOO Second Processor 
Acorn Teletext Receiver 
Anadox 8500 (Non- runner) 
Acorn 30Mbyto Winchester 
with L3 Softwaro 
Applo Macintosh Add-on Drive 


MISCELLANEOUS 


Cl 49.00 
C99.00 
C 349.00 
C79.00 
C69.00 
C49.0O 
C79.00 
C49.00 
Cl 9.00 
C49.00 
C99.00 
C99.00 
C200.00 
C699.00 
C200.00 
C75.00 
Cl 00.00 

Cl 200.00 
C200.00 


5 25 Datatech Diskettes per 10 80T Double Sided £ 15.00 
3 5 Datatech Diskettes per 10 80T Double Sided £ 20.00 


3 Diskettes per 10 Single Sided 
Double Sided 

5 25 Storage Box 10 
30 
80 

3 5 Storage Box 10 
30 
60 

02 Cassettes 12 mm x 10 

Ribbons 

Epson MX/FX/RX80/LX800 
MX/FX/RX100 
LX/80 

JX80 (Colour) 

LQ800 
LQ1000 
Canon/Taxan 
Colour Cartridge 
.Juki MS 
Juki SS 

Hermes (Remstar) 
Imagewriter/Apple DMP 
Microline 
Anadex 9500/1 
TEC/Citoh/Diablo 
Brother HR15/DX100 
Amstrad PCW 8256/512 
PCW 9512 
Amstrad DMP3000 

Printer lead for 

BBC im 

BBC 2m 

BBC 3m 

RS423 

Compact 

Apricot Sanyo 

IBM/Amstrad PC/Archie 

IBM RS232 

Custom made leads 

Printer Data Switch 

2- way 

3- way 

4- way 

2- Way Crossover 

Selmour Desks 

4X2 (with shelf) 

3X2 (with shelf) 

Shinecrest Desk (3x2) 

Monitor/Disk/Printer Stand 
Cassette Lead 
02 Cassettes (per 10) 

4-way mains adapter 


£ 30.00 

£ 50.00 

£ 2.50 

£12.00 

£ 18.00 

£ 3.50 

£ 9.00 

£ 15.00 

£2.00 


£ 4.00 

£8.00 

£ 4.00 

£ 10.00 

£ 6.00 

£ 8.00 

£ 6.00 

£10.00 

£ 3.00 

£ 2.00 

£ 3.00 

£6.00 

£ 2.50 

£ 12.50 

£ 5.00 

£ 4.00 

£6.00 

CALL 

£ 4.00 


£6.00 

£8.00 

£10.00 

£ 8.00 

£ 15.00 

£ 12.00 

£12.00 

£ 15.00 

£ 25.00 


£ 69.00 

£ 89.00 

£ 99.00 

£ 99.00 


£1 19.00 
£ 99.00 
£ 69.00 

£ 12.00 

£ 4.00 

£ 4.00 

£ 8.69 





















PART EXCHANGE YOUR BBC FOR 
ANYTHING WE CARRY IN STOCK 


Allowances from £75 (non-working) 
to £200 (late model - DFS Machine). 


PRINTERS 


Epson 


LX800 
SS Feeder 
FX800 
SS Feeder 
FX1000 
SS Feeder 
EX800 
SS Feeder 
EX 1000 
SS Feeder 
Colour Ribbon 
Colour Option 
LQ500 
SS Feeder 
LQ850 
SS Feeder 
LQ1050 
SS Feeder 
LQ2500 
SS Feeder 
SQ2500 
CQ3500 Laser 


Data Products LZR 1 230 


Canon 


PW1080A 
A55 132 col 
Serial Interface 
PJ 1080 Colour 
LPB-8 Series 2 Laser 

6100 Daisywheel 
Serial Interface 
SS Feeder 
Tractor Unit 
6200 
6300 
6500 


National Panasonic Matrix 


KXP 1081 
KXP3131 


£189.00 

£75.00 

£299.00 

£139.00 

£439.00 

£139.00 

£399.00 

£148.00 

£545.00 

£198.00 

£18.00 

£55.00 

£299.00 

£75.00 

£499.00 

£155.00 

£699.00 

£179.00 

£789.00 

£198.00 

£999.00 

£1495.00 

£2490.00 

£249.00 

£449.00 

£79.00 

£399.00 

£1646.00 

£279.00 

£59.00 

£199.00 

£159.00 

£449.00 

£699.00 

£799.00 


£149.00 

£245.00 


SPECIAL OFFER: 

EPSON LX800 - STILL ONLY 189.00 
BUT ONLY WHILE STOCKS LAST! 

Also available. Citizen. Star 


SPECIAL OFFER 


Acorn Philips medium resolution colour monitor suit- 
able for BBC B. BBC Master. Acorn Archimedes. Atari 
and many other micors. 

TTL RGB input, analogue RGB input, audio input. 

button to select green text. 12 months warranty 

Limited number only El 99.00 

Ideal for 80 column word processing, and for colour 

graphics. 


PLOTTERS 


Linear Graphics Plotmato 
A4 Parallel 
A4M Mulli-intorlaco 
A3 Parallel 
A3M Multi-interface 

Houston Instruments 
EDMP52A2/A1 
High Spood Inlolllgont 

EDMP 52MP A2/A t 
High Spood Intelligent Drum 


C369.00 

C429.00 

C399.00 

C549.00 



MONITORS 

Microvitec 

1431 MS Std Res 

£ 168.00 


1431DS Std Res 

£ 168.00 


1431 MS/AP 

£ 219.00 


1431DS/AP 

£ 219.00 


1451 MS Med Res 

£ 219.00 


1451 DS Med Res 

£ 219.00 


1451 MS/AP 

£ 249.00 


1451DS/AP 

£ 249.00 


1441 High Res 

£ 359.00 


2030CS Std Res 

£ 380.00 


2040CS High Res 

£ 685.00 


1456/DI 2 CG A 

£ 349.00 


1322/S 12 EGA 

£ 449.00 

Touchtech501 


£ 249.00 

Tilt & Swivel 


£ 19.00 

Philips 

7502 12" Green 

£ 69.00 

7522 12" Amber 

£ 85.00 


7542 12" White 

£ 85.00 


7513 12" Green IBM 

£99 


7713 14" Green IBM 

£ 113.00 


7723 14" Amber IBM 

£ 118.00 


8833 14" Colour 

£ 249.00 


8852 14" Colour 

£ 279.00 


887314" EGA 

£ 499.00 

Taxan 

KX 17 

£ 75.00 


KX 12 

£ 99.00 

Acorn 

ADF32 Med Res 
Colour 

£ 199.00 

1 MODEMS 1 

Miracle WS 2000 V21/23 

£92.00 

WS 2000 Auto Dial Card 

£27.00 

WS 2000 Auto Answer Card 

£27.00 

WS 2000 Sk. 

Kit 

£5.00 

WS 2000 User Port Lead 

£5.00 

WS 4000 V21/23 

£135.00 


WS 3000 V21/23 £244.00 

WS 3000 V22 £409.00 

WS 300 V22 BIS £537.00 

(Comes complete with BBC Corns package ana 
Data Lead} 

Pace/Nightingale Modem £115.00 

BBC/Commstar Software £29.00 


PCB DESIGN 


EUROMICRO PC SYSTEMS 

386/16 

£1995.00 

1 Mbyte RAM. Single 1 .2 MByte floppy 


286/10 

£1295.00 

1 MByte RAM. Single 1 .2 Mbyte floppy 


Baby AT 

£995.00 

1 MByte RAM, Single 1 .2 MByte floppy 


XT-Turbo 

££695.00 

640K RAM. Single 360K floppy 


All complete with Monochrome Monitor. Keyboard Serial and 

Parallel ports, and MSDOS v3.21 


Add-on Hard Disks (including controller where necessary) 

for XT-Turbo 20 MByte 

£295.00 

for Baby AT 20 Mbyte 

£350.00 

for 206 10 20 MByte 

£200.00 

for 386 16 20 MByte 

£350.00 

for 386/16 20 MByte + 

£495.00 

cache 


Add-on floppy 


for XT-Turbo 360K 

£65.00 

for Baby AT. 1 .2 Mbyte 

£95.00 

Add-on Memory 


for 286/ 10 1 Mbyte 

£130.00 

for 386/1 6 1 Mbyte 

£295.00 

EGA Colour monitor 

£395.00 

EGA Card 

£195.00 

Euromicro PC reviews have said: 


Which Computer -‘Startling Good Value' 

of 386 16 

Which Computer -‘Best Buy' 

of 286/10 

PC User ‘Excellent’ 

of 386 

Introductory offer with every 


286 and 386 a free Epson LX800 


PC SOFTWARE 

Delta Professional 

£399.00 

Delta 4 Budget 

£85.00 

dBase III Plus 

£399.00 

PFS: Professional Filer 

£199.00 

Cardbox 

£52.00 

Cardbox Plus 

£249.00 

WordPerfect v4.2 

£299.00 

Junior WordPerfect 

£86.00 

Wordstar v3.4 

£199.00 

Wordstar Professional v4 

£249.00 

Wordstar 2000 rel3 

£299.00 

Lotus 123 rel2 

£349.00 

Lotus Symphony 

£325.00 

Psion Xchange 

£325.00 

Ability 

£99.00 

Logistix 

£99.00 

Sage Bookkeeper 

£95.00 

Sage Accountant 

£135.00 

Sage Accountant Plus 

£165.00 


•Professional PCB Layout using Racai RedCAD 
— no |Ob too small 
•EPLD Chips designed 
(Erasable Programmable Logic Devices) 

•24 Hours lurn round - 

contact Russell Clarke 0276-684715 


SATELLITE RECEIVING SYSTEMS 


PRICES EX- 


Compshop was established in 1978. and in the nine 
years of trading numbers among its customers BBC. 
BOCC. BP. British Aerospace. British Home Stores. 
British Leyland, BT, CBS. DECX. Ferodo. GEC. Hirst. 
ITT. ITN, Kodak. Logica. Marconi. Metal Box. MK 
Electric. Pilkington Glass. Radio Rentals. Rolls Royce. 
Saatchi and Saatchi. STC. STL. Texas. Instruments. 
Thorn EMI. UDT and Zales. 

-VAT AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE PLEASE RING FOR S TOCK SITUATION BEFORE MAKING LONG JOURNEYS. 

OPEN 

10-7 • Mon-Fri 
10-4 • Sat 


•Complete Systems from £499 
•Satellite Decoder Boxes for Filrnnet ♦ Sky 
from £299 


BBC 


MW EM 


•ESTABLISHED EDUCATION SUPPLIERS • 
WITH APPROVED ACORN»AMSTRAD»CUMANA 
MICROVITEC* EPSON* SERVICE CENTRES 


RETAIL SHOPS 


COMPSHOP 

14 STATION ROAD, 

NEW BARNET, 

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(NEAR BRITISH RAIL STATION) 

SALES: 01-441-2922 
TECHNICAL: 01-449 6596 
TELEX: 298755 TELECOM G 


LTD 

INNOVATION HOUSE 
ALBANY PARK 
CAMBERLEY, 

SURREY GUI 5 2PL 

(BEHIND PAYLESS') 

SALES: 0276-29219 
TECHNICAL: 0276-684715 











r Uviprom 16/32 Eprom Programmer"' 


Uviprom 16/32 Eprom Programmer 

★ Programs 2764, 27128 & 27256, including "A" 

& CMOS types 

★ Plugs into user port on BBC B. 128 or Master. 

★ High Quality TEXTOOL ZIF socket. 

★ 21 or 12.5 Volt programming. 

★ UVP 1.1 ROM has five * commands. 

★ Very easy to use non nn 

hardware and software. LOUiUU . 


★ Programs 2764, 27128, 27256, 27512, 27513 
& 27011, inc. "A" & CMOS types. 

★ Plugs into user port on BBC B. 128 or Master. 

★ High Quality TEXTOOL ZIF socket. 

★ 21 or 12,5 Volt programming, 

★ UVP 1.1 ROM has five * commands. 

★ Custom made cream f A E fl fl 

. aluminium case. Xi4J.UUj 


f Multiprom Eprom Programmer ^ 


Uvipac Eprom Eraser 

The UVIPAC was designed especially for the home computer enthusiast 
requiring to erase up to 3 EPROMs at a time. Also erases Datapaks. 

★ Compact 90 x 80 x 40mm size. 

★ 240 Volt mains powered. 

★ 15 Minute timer option in (T) model. 

★ Timer + sounder option in (TS) model 

★ Spare tubes only E3 00 

UVIPAC UVIPAC (T) UVIPAC (TS) 
£21.50 £26.50 £28.50 



r Uviprom 16 Special Offer!! ^ 

Basic uncased 8/1 6K programmer for 12.5 Volt 
Eproms. Programs most “A" and CMOS types. 
Including UVP 1.1 ROM software. 

^£15.00 WHILE STOCKS LAST J 


r EPROMS 

1-2 

3-9 

10 up^ 

27128-25 

£3.70 

£3.50 

£3.30 

27C1 28-25 

£4.00 

£3.70 

£3.50 

27256-25 

£5.00 

£4.90 

£4.80 

All types use 12.5 

Volt Vpp 


i S.A.Eforold UVIPROM 21 to 12.5 data.^ 


TEL: 0702 230324 


DEPT. AU7 
GROUND CONTROL 
ALFREDA AVENUE 
HULLBRIDGE 
ESSEX SS5 6LT 


ALL PRICES INCLUDE 
VAT AND P&P 
MAIL/TELEPHONE ORDERS 
ONLY PLEASE. 
EDUCATIONAL AND 
GOVERNMENT ORDERS 
WELCOME. 


ECOnET EflHRnCEmEnT HRRDUJURE FRom DEL 



ECONET \ 
TAPE STREAMER 



Back up your entire Econet Level 3 Winchester in 2 minutes! 


The Digistore 600 is the latest addition to our range of Econet 
enhancement products. It provides Acorn hard disc users with the first 
professional tapestreamer for Econet and ADFS, and at 5.2 megabytes per 
minute, a security backup can be made several times a day with almost no 
effort. 


The Digistore uses industry standard data cartridges giving exceptional 
reliability and data security. 

159 HAVANT ROAD, DRAYTON. PORTSMOUTH. HANTS P06 2AA 
TELEPHONE (0705) 324934 



PINEAPPLE SOFTWARE 


Programs for the BBC model 'B', B+, Master and Master Compact with disc drive 


DIAGRAM II 


- now also available for ARCHIMEDES 


Diagram II is a completely new version of Pineapples popular 'Diagram' 
drawing software. The new version has a whole host of additional features 
which make it into the most powerful and yet quick to use drawing program 
available for the BBC micro. The new features mean that 'Diagram Ir can 
now be used for all types of drawings, not just circuit diagrams. Scale 
drawings are possible and the facilities for producing circles and rubber 
banded lines together with the pixel drawing routines make any type of 
drawing possible. This advert has been produced completely using Diagram II. 

Summary of Diagram II featuress- 


1. Works on all model BBC computers and makes use of Shadow memory if poss, 

2. Rapid line drawing routines with automatic joins for circuit diagrams. 

3. Rubber band line and circle drawing modes. 

4. Makes use of the Acorn GXR rom to produce ellipses, arcs, sectors, chords 

and flood fill ing. 

5. Pixel drawing mode allows very fine detail to be added. 

6. Defined areas of screen may be moved, copied, deleted or saved to disc, 

7. On-screen cursor position indication allows scale drawings to be made. 

8. Keyboard keys may be defined to print User Defined Characters allowing 

new charac 

9. Uordprocessor 


new character sets to be used, 
fil .... 

s if shadow memory 

11. Compatible with Marconi Trackerball and most makes of 'mouse'. 


les may be loaded and formatted into defined areas. 

10. Up to 880 UDC' s if shadow memory available, 381 without shadow. 


12. All ' Diagram Util ities' are included. 

13. Completely 'scaleable print routines allow any area of the diagram to be 

printed either horizontally or through 90deg. in scales that may be 
varied in 1/ steps allowing up to 18 mode 0 screens to be printed on 
an A4 sheet (still with readable text). 

14. Smooth scrolling over the whole area of the diagram. 

Diagram II consists of a set of disc files and a 16k Eprom. 

The disc is formatted 48T sideB and 88T side2. Please state if this 
is unsuitable for your system, or if you require a 3.5” Compact disc 


DIAGRAM II - £55.00+ uat 


PIP free 


MARCONI TRACKERBALL 


For Model ' B 1 and B+ (with Icon Artmaster) 
For Master 128 (with Pointer Rom) 

Bare Trackerball (no software) 

Pointer Rom (available separately) 
Trackerball to mouse adapters 

Postage and Packing on Trackerballs 


£ 60.00 

+ vat 

£60.00 

+ vat 

£ 49.00 

+ vat 

£ 12.50 

+ vat 

£ 8.00 

+ vat 

£ 1.75 




All orders sent by return 


PCB 


very rapidly using any model BBC micro i 
The program is suppl ied on Eprom and 
sides of the board in red and blue eithc 


Pineapple's now famous PCB drafting aid produces complex double sided Pea's 

— — -i-i ------ anc | any py compatible dot-matrix printer. 

_ d uses a mode 1 screen to display the two 

... ither separately or superimposed. Component 

layout screens are also produced for a silk screen mask. 

The print routines allow a separate printout of each side of the board in an 
expanded definition high contrast 1:1 or 2:1 scale. The print time is typically 
about 5 mins, for a 1:1 print of a 7* ♦ 5* board. This program has too many 
superb features to adequately describe here, so please write or 'phone for more 
details and sample printouts. 

e QCT C\T\ Plotter driver to suit 

00. UU + vat most plotters £ 35.88 +vat 



PCB AUTO -ROUTING 

This brand new addition to the PCB program 
increases the power of the software and speeds the 
design of PCB' s even more. 

A list of up to 190 connections may be entered in 
the form of a 'rats nest' and then tne computer does 
the rest! You may specify which side of the board 
you wish a track to be on or you may leave the 
choice to the computer, and you may also say whether 
tracks should be allowed to pass between I.C. pins. 

The program is in the form of a second Eprom and 
full features are available on a standard model' B.' 

Please write or 'phone for full details. 

COMPLETE AUTOROUTE PACKAGE 
(Including manual Eprom) 


£ 185.00. 


VAT 


ADFS Utilities Rom 


ADU is an invaluable utility for all ADFS users. It adds over 22 new 
♦commands to the ADFS filing system as well as providing an extensive Menu 
facility with over 35 sub commands covering areas such as repeated disc 
compaction, saving and loading Rom images, auto booting of files and many more. 

Copying of DFS discs onto ADFS discs can be made in one pass with automatic 
creation of the required directories on the ADFS disc. All functions are fully 
compatible with Winchester drives including *BACKUP which allows backing up of 

Winchesters onto multiple floppies. 

New ♦commands are as follows:- ♦ADU, ♦BACKUP, ♦CATALL, ♦Q-IANGE, *DFSADFS 
♦DIRALL, ♦DIRCOPY, •DIRDESTROY, ♦DIRRENAhE, ♦DISCEDIT, ♦DRIL^^^EFIND, ♦FORMAT, 
♦KILLADG, ♦LOCK, *MENU, ♦PURGE, ♦PWRBRK, •UNLOCK, ♦VERIFY, ♦(/FORMAT, ♦WIPE 

PRICE £ 29.88 ♦ vat 


MTTfTVCDTPr — Powerful A.C. & D.C. circuit analyser package - £119. 
I 111 L. I Or lvsL. with Graphics output. Send for more details 


39 Brownlea Gardens,Seuen Klngs,I If ord, Essex IG3 9NL Tel 01-599 1476 



30 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 




amazing gang 


SCOOP PURCHASE 
ELECTRON 
COMPUTERS IN 
STOCK NOW 

£ 59 . 95 , 

Includes power supply, aerial 
lead, user free game and 90 day 
warranty 


FOR THE ELECTRON 

1 VIEW ROM 

£29r95 1 

1 WordProcessor 

£14.95 1 

1 VIEW SHEET ROM 

£29^5 ■ 

I (Spreadsheet) 

£14.95 1 

1 BUY BOTH 

£22.00 1 

“FOR THE BBC 


■ VIEW 3.0 ROM C59r8<L £44.95! 1 
H VIEWSHEETROM TSOrSO- £44.95! 1 

■ VIEWSTORE ROM T59r05- £44.95! 1 


VOLTMACE: 

Delta 3b Twin Joystick 

(For use with Plus 1 or BBC) 

m&only£1 7 . 95 ! 




Lloylron 

DATA RECORDERS 

SUITABLE FOR THE 
ELECTRON 


ONLY 


£ 19.95 


ELECTRON JOYSTICK 


Electron Joystick Interface & Software £1 4.95 
Quickshot II Turbo Joystick £13.95 

BUY BOTH FOR ONLY £25.00! 


NEW I ACORNSOFT OVERVIEW 


A sophisticated combination of Viewspel I & 
Viewstore on Rom Cartridge and 
Viewplot, View index and Printer Driver 
Generator on Disc 

BBC Disc & Rom R.R.P.£98r9e- 
OFFER PRICE £78.45 


5 

a> 

Ferguson 12" 
Green Screen (MM02) 

w 

3 

z 

TO 

c 

MONITORS 

3 

a. 

z 

e 

m 

only £59a95 

CD 

€ 

(Ele or BBC lead supplied FREE!) 


RECENT RELEASES 
AT SPECIAL PRICES 


ACORNSOFT VIEW 
PROFESSIONAL 


Combines the functions of a wordprocessor 
spreadsheet and database in one program. 

BBC B, & all Master Series Micros 
R R.P.X&9r95~ 

OFFER PRICE ONLY £79.45 


ARCHIMEDES!! 

H0VERB0D 


£12.95 

MISSILE CONTROL 

-£44795" 

£12.95 

MINOTAUR 

_-£44 4T 

£12.95 

VIEW3.0 

— £66r3D" 

£49.95 

ARTISAN 

-# 94 r 

£34.95 

ARTISAN SUPPORT DISC 


£17.95 

TWIN 

-£36745" 

£29.95 

GRAPHIC WRITER 

_£2645 r 

£21.95 

LOGISTIX 

-£446785" 

£99.95 

ANSIC 

-£443^r 

£99.95 

SYSTEM DELTA PLUS 

-£69:95" 

£59.95 

DELTA BASE 

-£24795" 

£21.95 

W0RDWISE + 

—22640" 

£18.95 

PERSONAL ACCOUNTANT 

_£274t85^ 

£219.95 

ZARCH 

— £49795" 

£17.95 

CONQUEROR 

—£2445" 

£19.95 



BBC 

BBC 

BBC 


OR ELE 

DISC 

COMPACT 

Barbarian 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

Bonecruncher 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

Codename Droid 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

Crazee Rider 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

Elixir 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

Icarus 

£7.45 

£9.59 

- 

Imogen* 

£7.45 

£8.45 

£10.95 

Impact 

£7.95 

£9.95 

- 

Kourtyard 

£7.45 

£9.59 

- 

Life Of Repton 

£5.50 

£6.50 

£7.95 

Palace Of Magic 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

Play It Again Sam 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

Quest 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£8.50 

Skirmish 

£7.45 

£9.59 


Spellbinder 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

Spy Cat 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

Spy vs Spy 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

Strykers Run 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 


‘BBC ONLY -STATE 40 or 80t 


MINI OFFICE II 

MASTER 128 


£15.95 

B/B+ (State 40 or 80t) 

-£46785" 

£13.95 

ROM 

JESS 4T 

£55.95 

W0RDWISE+ 

£5645' 

£43.95 

SPELLMASTER 

-£5635" 

£43.95 

INTERWORD 

-S564T 

£43.95 

INTERSHEET 

£564*r 

£43.95 

INTERCHART 

£6645" 

£43.95 


MICROPOWER AND OTHER GAMES 


Giroscope 

Bandits at 3 O'clock 
Escape from Moon Base Alpha 
Ghouls 
Stock Car 
Killer Gorilla 


-£646- Rubble Trouble 
-£645- Swoop 
#r 95r Croaker 
£745 - Bumble Bee 
£745- Positron 
£745- Felix & the Fruit Monsters 


47 - 95 - Cybertron Mission 

£745- 

47 - 95 - Moonraider 

£745- 

47 ^ 95 - Felix & the Evil Weevils 

£645- 

4745 - Frenzy 

S&&T 

£745- Microcosm 

-#45-* 

; £ 745 - FatmanSam 

#45-* 


BBC & ELECTRON ANY FIVE FOR ONLY £7.95 


*BBC ONLY 


EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE 


BBC/ELE 

40/801 

COMP 


CASS 

DISC 


Answerback Junior Q 

£7.95 

£8.75 

£9.95 

Answerback Senior Q 

£7.95 

£8.75 

£9.95 

Identify Europe 

£6.35 

£6.95 

£8.65 

Answerback Sport 

£7.95 

£8.75 

£9.95 

Happy Writing 

- 

£8.75 

£13.45 

Happy Letters 

- 

£8.75 

£13.45 

Word Hang 

£7.95 

£11.95 

£13.55 

Spelling W. by Week 

- 

£13.95 

£15.85 

Words or Pictures 

- 

£11.45 

£13.25 

Happy Numbers 

£7.95 

£11.95 

£13.55 

Decimals 

- 

£11.45 

£13.25 

Angles 

- 

£11.45 

£13.25 

BBC ONLY: 




French Mistress i 

German Master LCVCK3 

Italian Tutor A Of B 

£7. 

.95 

per 

level 

Spanish Tutor 





ASK SOFTWARE Ml YRS 

The best four language programs (set) 

The best four maths programs (set) 

BBC/ELE £17.95 

BBC DISC £17.95 

BBC COMPACT £18.35 


BELOW: ANY 2 £3.95 


Linkword Spanish 
Linkword Italian 
Maths ’O’ Level 2 
Biology 
English 

World Geography (BBC only) 
European Knowledge 
Graphs & Charts 
Business Games 
Talk Back 
Workshop 

(CASS ONLY) 


COMPILATIONS 


BBC/ELE 

BBC 

BBC 


CASS 

DISC 

COMPACT 

ACORNSOFT HITS 1 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

ACORNSOFT HITS 2 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

SUPERIOR COLLI 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

SUPERIOR COLL 2 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

SUPERIOR COLL 3 (Elo) 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

COMPUTER HITS 3 

£7.45 

£9.59 


COMPUTER HITS 4 

£7.45 

£9.59 


5 STAR GAMES 3 

£7.45 

£9.59 

£11.50 

PLAY IT AGAIN SAM 2 

£7.45 

£9.59 

* MICRO POWER MAGIC 1 

£5.95 

£5.95 

£7.75 

* MICRO POWER MAGIC 2 

£5.95 

£5.95 

£7.75 


(* Stale 40 or 801) 




Electron Power 
Supplies 
£9.95 
LOGO ROM 
Ele Plus 1 
or Ml 28 
£24.95 


Name _ 
Address 


Tel. . 


I claim my mystery gift 


AU 


*BBC COMPATIBLE 


SAE for comprehensive price lists 
Please state for which machine 
ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


SOFTWARE BARGAINS 

Dept AU8 8/8A Regent St., Chapel Allerton. Leeds LS7 4PE 
Tel: (0532) 687735- 
Out of Hours Answer Phone 


PLEASE ADD 95p P&P 
and make cheques 
payable to Software Bargains 
Goods despatched within 48 Hours 
Subject to availability 


31 

















THE NUMBER ONE DISK SUPPLIERS 


10 SONY, 
, MP2-DD 
DISKS 
f £18.95 


TOP QUALITY DISKS 
AT ROCK BOTTOM PRICES 


5.25" BULK PACKED-TOP QUALITY 

25 

50 

100 

150 

250 

Single Sided 48T.P.I. 

£9.97 

£17.58 

£30.88 

£39.43 

£58.43 

Single Sided 96T.P.I 

£10.21 

£18.05 

£31.83 

£40.85 

£59.85 

Double Sided 48T.P.I. 

£10.45 

£18.53 

£32.78 

£42.75 

£62.70 

Double Sided 96T.P.I. 

£10.93 

£19.48 

£34.20 

£44.18 

£66.03 

Double Sided Coloured 96T.P.I. 

£13.06 

£24.46 

£46.08 

£62.23 

£94.76 

Double Sided Reversible* 

£14.25 

£27.08 

£47.98 

£64.13 

£97.38 

Coloured & Reversible* 

£14.25 

£27.08 

£47.98 

£64.13 

£97.38 


Coloured Disks come in five colours (Red, Blue, White, Yellow, Green). Reversible disks have two index holes and two notches! Reversible disks work 
with 40T or 80T (48T.P.I796T.P.I.) Coloured and reversible disks come in five colours and have two holes and notches. All Centec disks are packed 
with a protective jacket (envelope) and come with a full user set, including a label and a write protect tab. The disks are manufactured to top international 
standards and have a hub ring for added projection. All disks carry our no quibble replacement guarantee and are certified 100% error free. 



HIGH DENSITY DISKS 


These disks are made by one of our leading disk manufacturers, and 
are packaged in 10 capacity storage boxes. Suitable for PS/2 High 
Capacity disk drives and other disk drives which use high capacity 
disks. 

10 20 40 60 80 100 

£39.95 £69.95 £129.95 £189.95 £249.95 £299.95 


PC - AT HIGH DENSITY 5.25" DISKS 

Made by one of the leading disk manufacturers, these disks are suitable 
for the PC - AT and other High Density Disk Drives. Packaged in plastic 
library cases, and with a lifetime warranty. 


10 

£17.95 


20 

£32.99 


40 

£62.99 


60 

£89.99 


80 100 

£119.99 £139.99 



STORAGE 

BOXES 

Anti-static, two keys, 
hinged + dividers 

3.50* Lockable - Holds 40 £5.95 

3.50' Lockable - Holds 80 £6.95 

525‘ Lockable - Holds 50 £5.95 

525" Lockable - Holds 100 £6.95 

ANY TWO BOXES FOR £1 1 .95 ANY 
THREE FOR £14.95 


PROFESSIONAL 
PRINTER 
STAND 



This new printer stand is very space effident 
as it takes hardly any more room than your 
printer. Due to the unique positioning of the 
paper guide mechanism and refold 
compartments that is one above the other, 
the desk space is effectively halved. The 
space saving design allows easy access to 
the paper from both sides, the special dial 
controlled paper feed system with adjustable 
deflector plates ensures smooth paper flow 
and automatic refolding. 

80 Col £19.95 


JUDGE FOR 
YOURSELVES 

Youll be guilty of paying 
more & getting less if 
you go elsewhere 



STORAGE BOXES 
NEW RANGE 

3.50” Lockable - Holds 1 00 £7.95 

3.5" 120 capacity lockable £8.95 

5.25" 140 capacity lockable £8.95 

any two for £13.99 
any three for £19.99 

ALL BOXES ARE ANTI-STATIC 
AND COME WITH LOCK, 2 KEYS AND 
HINGED UD 


THE FAMOUS CENTEC 
DISK & BOX OFFER! 

We can be copied on style but not on quality and Price! 


3.5 H 

3.5* DS/DO 80 Disks 
& 80 Capatity Box-£69.95 
3.5" DS/DO 40 Disks 
& 40 Capadty Box-£39.95 


5 25** 

5.25' DS/DO 100 Disks 
& 100 Capacity Box-C 29.95 
5.25* DS/DO 50 Disks 
& 50 Capacity Box-£19.95 


3.5” TOP QUALITY BULK PACKED DISKS 


10 

25 

50 

100 

150 

200 

Single Sided 135T.P.I. £9.49 

£22.95 

£41.95 

£79.95 

£116.95 

£154.95 

Double Sided 135T.P.I. £9.95 

£24.95 

£43.95 

£81.95 

£119.95 

£158.95 

Rainbow Pack of five colours - -=* 

tf! New Lower Prices 



Single Sided 135T.P.I. £12.49 

£23.95 

£46.95 

£91.95 

£129.95 

£169.95 

Double Sided 135T.P.I £14.49 

£26.95 

£52.95 

£98.95 

£145.95 

£189.95 


Rainbow disks come in Blue, Red, Green, Yenow and Orange 
All discs are supplied with labels and are certified 100% error free 


BBC Printer Cable £5.95 

Archimedes Printer Cable £6.96 

Disk Notcher ....£4.95 

525* Fluid based 

cleaning kit £4.96 

3.5“ Fluid based 

cleaning kl £4.96 

Mini Vac for prirters/ 

keytxjards £4.96 

Mouse Mat £4.95 


SAME DAY 
DESPATCH 


E. & O.E. 


CENTEC DISK SUPPLIES 

UNIT 3, THE METRO CENTRE, BRIDGE ROAD, ORPINGTON, KENT BR5 2BE 
TEL: (0689) 35353 (6 Lines) (24 Hours) Fax: 0689 77737 

Please note we operate a call stacking system. Outside office hours a telephone answering machine will take your order. 

Remember - all prices include VAT and delivery (UK only). There are no hidden extras to pay! Personal callers welcome: Monday-Friday 9.30am-4.30pm 



32 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 




BRAINS OFT LTD FOF? THE BBC SERIES AND 


ARC DESKTOP + TRANSFER SOFTWARE. 

This software Is an enhanced desktop for the Archimedes ((C) Acorn ccnputer Ltd) , and has the following functlons:- 

SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR, A 30 function scientific calculator with a facility for number conversions. 

CIPCK, A clock with a difference ! . Big ben digitised and Incorporated In the archlmedes desktop. 

DIARY, Same design and function as Acorns standard diary. 

NOTEPAD, An Improved version of Acorns notepad, with direct pointer driven Input. 

PALETTE, A Palette of the same design as the Acorn Palette. 

BBC CONVERTOR, This program blends into the desktop, when a RS232 lead has been connected between the BBC and the 
Archimedes select the 5.25* disk Icon and a window showing the files on the BBC B disk drive appears on the 
TO load files just select them with a mouse (as many as you want) , and from the desktop menu select load to make the 
files transfer automatically frcm the BBC to the archlmedes. The baud rate is set at 19200 baud although any speed can 
be used, the Convertor is Intelligent and recognises automatically the file types contained on the BBC’s disk drive. 

EDITOR, This Is an optional facility for editing source text files for compilers (FORTRAN, C, PASCAL etc), to work it must be used on at least a 310 (this Is not a disadvantage 
as none of the compilers are able to work on a 305). This advanced program blends fully Into the desktop envlrcment, and is very user friendly and Intuitive in Its use, the maximum 
text size is 2000 lines. The files produced are compatible with twin, it Is entirely WIMP driven and needs no control /function keys. 

The basic editor functions included are string search, search and replace, load, save, merge, print, clear. 


“This kit from Bralnaoft can ba thoroughly raconunadad- from ravlaw la Archly smgailna Dac»-*>ar 1987. 


c SIDEWAYS RAM 

C BRAIMSOru 32K BULL TUI BIST VXLUK 
a ID SHITS RAH TOR Tfll BBC RANCI. 

E , 


3 

J 

3 


E 

E 

E 

E 

: 


•Uses latest technology. 

•32K of ran In a size no 
larger than a me H. 

•No soldering required the 
two leads clip cm. 

•Takes up only one sideways 
ran socket. 

•Does not use user port but 
uses 4FE30 register. 

•tow power consumption. 
Incompatible with ran boards except Peart roe *0000. 



3 

J 

3 

3 

: 


E 


BRAXNSOTT3 16K COKPATIBLR WITH MOST 
PCM BOARDS. 


E 

E 

E 


This nodule has been tested with the following boards 
ATPL. Watford, and Peartree KR3000. 

This nodule has the sane construction of the 32K nodule 
but l» minus the bank select line. 

Writ* protect switch 

At little extra cost a write protect switch can be added to 
a ncxtule rfilch allows “protected* software to be loaded. 
JCTE: It Is Illegal to orpy or pirate software. 

All the above are guaranteed for 1 yr. Please state cccruter. 


3 

3 

3 

3 


SOFTWARE 

SIDEWAYS RAM UTILITIES BBC B.Be, MASTER 
Now Version 3 with AM'S and APB ! ! 

-MENU DRIVEN SOFTWARE this sel/tts RAM LOAD, RAMSAVF., RAM LI ST. PRINTER 
BUFFER, or PROCRAmERS UTILITIES. 

-ADVANCED PRINTER BUFFER provides the user with up to an extra (3K of buffer space. 
Wrlch allows the user to continue using WOftDMISE-PLUS. VIEW or BASIC whilst the 
printer Is prilling. 

-PR0GRAKCR5 UTILITIES are a collection of 25 utilities Including a full-screen- 
nosory editor, all variables clear, program relocation, program compaction, 
program repairer, roa list, ro* enable, roa disable, roa status, speed control, 
oogxitcr status, string search, variable list, vector list, clone all f 1 leas, list of 
the currently active variables, key lead, keysave. program comparison with a file 
held on disk, ran save, and screen contact lon/uncanpact Ion which can pack 
a node 0 screen In less than IK of disk space. 

-ADVANCED ROM FILING SYSTEM provides the user with fast access to programs and 
data, so fast that It can load a 2 OR program quicker than the BBC’s CLS caosand takes 
to dear the amory. The AM'S Is capable of storing fllee longer than 32K In length, the 
asxnt of file space Is limited to the ntsaber of sideways ram the user has, the nrnber of 
files, length of names being limited by only the ram size. The ARTS when enabled by 
•RTS acts like a disk Interface allowing saves and deletions, as well as loading, many 
programs whlth use ’legal* disk calls are coqpa tibia. 

Also provided on the disk are three BASIC programs which can be easily adapted to n*» 
on NETWORK system, ramload, ramsave and rami 1st. 

Provided with the sideways ram Utilities is a 12 page Instruction book, the software Is 
supplied on a LOT disk with I0T conversion software. 


PRICI LIST 1ST QTR 88 
16K MODULI JUST 114 

32K. KDULX £ 14.5 

WRITE PROTECT SWITCH £2 

SIDEWAYS SOFTWARE 16 

8 IDEWATS SOFTWARE 
ORDERED WITH A MODULE13 

62256LP- 12 RAM CHIP 111 


2+OFF 62256LP-12 110 

ARCHIMEDES SOFTWARE 
LEAD CHLY £8 

SOFTWARE ONLY £8 

SOFTWARE ♦ EDITOR £13 

LEAD ♦ SOFTWARE £14 


LEAD ♦ SOFTWARE+EDIT lift 


PRICES CIVEN FULLY 
IMCLUSIVE HO EXTRA COSTS . 
EDUCATIONAL ORDERS RCCEPTED 
DISCOUNTS 6IPEN FOB QUANTITY 


3RAINS0FT LTD 
22 3AKEP. ST. 

LONDON WIM IDF. 
TELEPHONE 01-4860321 



FILEMAN 


A COMPREHENSIVE FILE 
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 

- available on B, B + Master, Compact and 
Archimedes 


The creation, interrogation and updating of 
random access files. 

The generation of new files from existing FILEMAN 
Files. 

The sorting of files on up to four key fields. 

The classification of data In any field and the 
analysis of numeric data. 

The display of classified data in pictorial form, 
e.g. pie chart, bar chart, normal and cumulative 
frequency curve. 

Plotting of individual records (not available 
on BBC B) 


6 . 


Ideal for GCSE project work. 
FILEMAN DATABASE CAN BE ADAPTED BY US, TO 
SUIT YOUR REQUIREMENTS. 

Other products include: School Profiles, 
Accounts Packages and developments 
For the Concept Keyboard 


WE OFFER: 

Reliable personal service 

Full support and training courses 

Competitive prices for BBC hardware, software & 

peripherals 

WE ARE: 

Educational and small business computing consultants 


TRAFFORD COMPUTING 

7 TRAFFORD ROAD, ALDERLEY EDGE, CHESHIRE SK9 7 NT. TEL: 0625 583686 


ACORN USF.R AUGUST 1988 


33 




I I II 1 1 i ll i-H-H I I I I 11 I l - H -i-t 1-1 1 I l- H - H II I I I 11 I I II II II I I II I I I I I II I III II I i 111 I II I 111 III I I I I I \ 


TECHNOMATIC 


Burnley Road, London NW10 1 ED Tel: 0 1-208 1177 Fax: 01-452 1500 
305 Ed » ware Road, London VV 2 Tel: 0 1 -723 0233 Telex: 922800 J 





ARCHIMEDES, BBC COMPUTERS & ECONET REFERRALCENTRE 



300 & 400 SERIES 

Archimedes 305 Basic 
Archimedes 310 Basic 
Archimedes 440 Basic 
Acorn Mono Monitor* 

Acorn Colour Monitor* 

Philips CM8833 Col Monitor* 

PC Emulator Software* 

'Prices applicable only when purchased with the computer 

ADD-ONS 

0.5Mb Ram upgrade kit (for 305) 

2nd Floppy Drive (305, 310) 

Backplane for 2 podules 
I/O Podule 

20Mb Hard disc + podule 
Acorn ROM Podule 
CC ROM Podule 
Midi Addon to I/O 
Midi Expansion Card 
Econct Network Module 
Archimedes Printer Lead 
Archimedes Colour Monitor Lead 
IEEE Interface Podule 


£699(a) 
£775(a) 
$2, 529(a) 
£60(a) 
£220(a) 
£210(a) 
£60(b) 


£144(b) 
£1 18(b) 
£37(c) 
£80(c) 
£469(a) 
£55(c) 
£45(c) 
£37(c) 
£66(c) 
£43(d) 
£7(d) 
£7.50(d) 
£283(b) 


(Full implementation of IEEE 488 & 488 A) Spec on request 


Armadillo Sound Sampler 
Fourier Transform Software 


£105(b) 

£40(d) 

£25(d) 

£30(d) 

£104(b) 


£29(b) 

£12(d) 


£99(d) 


£95(c) 

£95(c) 

POA 


£29(d) 

£41(d) 

POA 

POA 


ARC/BBC Serial Link 
ARC External Drive Adaptor 
External 5.25 Drive 

BOOKS: (no VAT) 

Arc. Ref Manual 
ARM Assy Lang Prog 

SOFTWARE: 

PC Emulator Version 1 .20 
( includes MS-DOS 3.2) 

LANGUAGES: 

ANSIC £95(c) ISO PASCAL 

Prolog X £181(b) FORTRAN 77 

LISP £181(b) COMAL 

PROGRAMMERS TOOLS: 

TWIN Editor 
Toolkit Plus Module 
Software DevT/Box 
Software Dev Debug T/box 

WORDPROCESSORS 

First Word Plus £79(d) VicwSKM31(e) 

Graphics Writer £27(d) Interword (e) 

PipeDream £99(d) Wordwise + 

SPREADSHEETS 

Logistix 

(Includes spreadsheet/database/timesheets/graphics) 

Matrix 3D 

(3 Dimensional s/sheet with 19k col , 10k row & 100 pages) 
Sigmashcet £59(d) VicwsheetSKM7(e) £47(d) 

Intersheet (e) £35(d) 

GAMES: 

Zarch £17(d) Minotaur £ll(d) 

Software packages marked with (e) run under 6502 emulated mode. 
Please check on availability of some of the above 
packages 

ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE 

Minerva’s suite 5 Modules (ea) £54(d) 

Order Processing, SalcsLedger, StockManagcr, Purchase Ledger 
& Nominal Ledger 


£47(d) 

£35(d) 

£20(d) 


£95(d) 

£159(c) 


Special Offer 

FREE £115 iiic vat VOUCHER 


with every Archimedes model 310 and 
440 purchased from us. 

The voucher can be redeemed against 
any future purchase from us (inc Arc 
monitor, PC Emulator (at £60) , discs, 
cables, paper etc.) 
Additionally we will offer discounts 
upto 10% on Archimedes software and 
5% on Archimedes hardware stocked 
by us. 


GRAPHICS/ART/CARD 
Artisan £30(d) GammaPlot £30(d) 

Artisan Support £17(d) System GammaPlus £59(d) 

Autosketch £69(d) Interchart (e) £25(d) 

Presenter £24(d) 

(Allows importing of text into First Word+) 

DATABASES 

Dcltabase £26(d) ViewstoreSKM07(e) £47(d) 

System DeltaT £57(c) Alphabase £39(d) 

Prog Ref Guide £26(c) 

Support modules for System Delta Plus each £35(d) 

CC MEGA 3 

(incl. Interword/sheet/chart) (e) £82(c) 


FILE STORE 


Acorn’s new file server system 

Filestore E01 

Filestore E02 

Full details on request 


£825(a) 

£699(a) 


ECONET ACCESSORIES 


Econct Starter Kit £85(b) 

Econet Socket Set £29(c) 

File Server Level II £75(b) 

Master FS Utility Disc £I7.25(d) 


Econet Bridge 
Printer Server Rom 
10 Station Lead Set 


£174(b) 

£4t(d) 

£26(d) 


ECOEINK 


Ecolink allows you to connect a PC/XT or AT to 
an econct network. Supplied complete with 
comprehensive manual, software and cable. 

Full spec on request £299(b) 




y 


To be launched soon 

The most comprehensive CAD system for 
the Master. Host of innovative features for 
creating complex drawings, peb layouts, 
sketches etc. Virtually no restrictions on 
drawing sizes. On screen scaling for plotters, 
variety of screen dumps for compatible 
printers. 

FREE 

evaluation disc available to any educational 
establishment. A handling charge of £3 for 
others. The disc contains operating 
instructions and will perform as release 
version except for file functions. 


MASTER SERIES 


AMB15 Master 128K £356(a) 

Includes free Educational/Fun software bundle from BBC 

Publications range (RRP £40) and a STARdataBASE package 
worth another £40. 

ADC06 Turbo 65C102 Module £1 15(b) 

ADC08 512 processor £99(b) 

includes MS-DOS and GEM Suite 


ADF10 Econet Module £40(c) Acorn Rom Cartridge £13<d) 
ADJ22 Ref Manual I £14(c) ADJ23RefManuaIII £14(c) 
View User Guide £8.50(d) V/sheet User Guide £8.50(d) 
TRC2 ROM Cart £7.50(d) TRC44ROM Cartridge £U(d) 
TRC3232K RAM Cart. £21(d) Master Dust Cover £4.75(d) 
Acorn 32016 Co Processor £949(a) 

Acorn X25 Gateway £2175(a) 

Acorn IEEE Interface (forB, B+ Master) £265(b) 
Universal CoProc Adapter £49(b) 

BBC Domesday System £3,750(2 X a) 

Send for detailed list of DOS software for 512 


MASTER SUMMER SPECIAL 

Master AMB154-512 Co-Processor 
for only 


£420(a) 


(Allow £5 extra if you would like us to fit the card for you) 

512 upgrade includes 
80186 processor with 512K RAM, 
DOS4-, GEM Suite (Desk Top, 
Paint & Write) and Mouse 

This offer valid while stocks last. 

Ask for our list of DOS software compatible with 512. 


MASTER COMPACT 


All Compact systems come complete with 128K of 
RAM, 640K 3.5" double sided drive and 
educational software. Additionally we include our 
Education/Fun software bundle to the package. 
SYSTEM 1 Entry system £310(a) 

SYSTEM 2 with 12" Hi Res Mono 
Monitor £365 (2xa) 

SYSTEM 3 with 14" Med Res Col Monitor 

£475 (2xa) 

Compact 2nd Drive Kit £90(c) 

Serial Kit £25(d) 

TV Modulator £26(c) 

Mcrtec Adapter £35(c) 

(upgrades Compact to almost Master level) 
External Drive adapter Cable £9(d) 


UPGRADE KITS 


1.20S ROM 
DNFSROM 
BASIC II ROM 


£15(d) ADFS ROM 
£ 19(d) 1770 DFS Kit 
£22.50(d) Econet Kit 


am 

£49(d) 

£55(d) 


EPROMS/RAMS 


2764-25, 27128-25 (12.5V Vpp), 27128-25 
(21 .OV Vpp), 6264LP-15, 27256, 27512 

All prices on application 


RAM/ROM EXPANSION 


ATPL Board for Model B. Simple 
to instal, no soldering. Allows 
expansion to 15 Roms +2*8K RAMS 
ATPL Battery backup kit 
ATPL Board for BBC+ (10 Roms) 


£37(c) 

£18(d) 

£31(c) 




AH prices ex VAT and subject to change without notice. 

1 1 ii r ti-r 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 1 1 ii 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 rr r 


i- 













m i MM i MMirrm-H -i-M-i mim - 


Technomatic 


17 Burnlev Road, London NYV10 1 ED Tel: 01-20S 1 177 



TECHNOMATIC DISC DRIVES 





TS 400 


A range of high quality high performance drives to meet the needs of all BBC Micro Users. 

All drives fitted with high quality, slim line Mitsubishi drive mechanism and necessary cables. 

* All drives are fitted with high quality slim line ultra low power mechanisms capable of single and double 
density operation and offering fast track access and head setting times. Our confidence in their quality 
enables us to offer a two year parts and labour warranty on these mechanisms without any extra charge. 
*5.25" floppy drives are fitted with 40/80 track switches as standard at no extra cost. The switches are 
located in the front and clearly marked to indicate the status at a glance. 

'The mechanisms are set inside attractively styled, sturdy metal casings painted in BBC beige colour. 

* All drives fitted with all necessary leads and are ready for operation on unpacking. The drives with the 
mains power supply are supplied with a mains lead fitted with a suitably fused 13A moulded plug. 
'TECHNOMATIC drives stand out from other drives because of the high quality of construction and use of 
reliable switchmode power supply units on dual drives. 


5.25" Single Drives 40/80 switchable: 
TS400 400K/640K 



PS400 400K/640K with integral 
mains power supply 

5.25" Dual Drives 40/80 switchable: 
TD800 800K/1280K 


PD800 800K/1280K with 
integral mains power supply 


£90(b) 

£101(b) 

£170(a) 

£190(a) 


PS351 single 400K/640K with 
integral mains power supply 

TD352 Dual 800K/1280K 


£85(b) 

£126(b) 


PD800P 800K/1280K with 
integral mainspower supply and 
monitor stand 


PD 800P 


3.5" 80T DS Drives: 
TS351 single 400K/640K 


£209(a) 

£69(b) 


PD352 Dual 800K/1280K with 
integral mains power supply 

Combo Drives (5.25" & 3.5" drives) 
PD853 with integral psu 
PD853P with integral psu 

DISC DRIVE MULTIPLEXER 
see page 5 of this ad for details 
For Master t B, B+ and any DFS/ADFS 
TDM2 Two computers/onc drive unit 
TDM4 Four computers/one drive unit 


£149(b) 


£175(a) 

£195(a) 


£65(b) 
£1 15(b) 


TECHNOMATIC W INCHESTERS 


=: 


Technomatic offer the most popular range of 
Winchester drives for BBC micro systems at 
competitive prices. The drives are fully 
compatible with Acorn ADFS system. Fan cooled 
switch mode power supply ensure efficient and 
reliable operation. Combination of floppy and 
winchester drives in our elegant plinth housing 
provides an ideal solution for need to have large 
storage and ease of transferring data to floppies. 


P20HD TECHNOMATIC 20 Mbyte 
Winchester Drive 


P30HD 30Mb Winchester Drive 

P40HD TECHNOMATIC 40 Mbyte 
Winchester Drive with Acorn 
ADFS ROM 


£419(a) 

£435(a) 


TFC10 10 Mbyte Pre-formatted 
Cartridge for use with P2041HT 
andTSlO. 


£21(d) 


£669(a) 


Technomatic front end utility for the Master 
supplied with the winchesters at no extra cost 
provides an easy and efficient file management 
system. The entire contents of the drive arc 
displayed on the screen on boot up, each file or 
directory appearing as an icon. The icon type 
indicates whether directory or file and type of data 
if latter. 


P204HP TECHNOMATIC 20 Mbyte 
Winchester and a 80T DS floppy Drive 
built in a monitor stand. 

Includes ADFS Rom. 


Technomatic Winchesters can be adapted to 
operate with the SJ Research FileServer by 
internal modification. However this must be 
specified at the time of ordering otherwise the 
drive has to be returned to us for modification. 


£609(a) 


Adaptor for SJ FileServer 


£28 


P2041HT As P204HP but also with a 
10 Mbyte tape streamer backup unit 
and backup utilities. 

Includes ADFS Rom. 


£1179(a) 


WINCHESTER Drive Multiplexer 

These units let you share aWinches- 
ter drive between a number of com- 
puters. Full details on request. 


Larger capacity drives available on request. 


TS10 10 Mbyte Tape Streamer 
Backup unit with utilities. 


£546(a) 


TWM2 for two computers. 
TWM4 for four Computers. 


£99 (b) 
£149 (b) 



Following the great success enjoyed by our P20HD unit, 
we are pleased to announce the launch of P30HD - a 30Mbyte 
hard drive. This drive is also supplied with the free front end utility 
for the Master. £435(a) 


ItlH.K DISCS 


3M FLOPPY DISCS 


5.25" Discs in packs of 10 
74440TSS DD £6.75(d) 

74540TDSDD £9.75(d) 

74680TSSDD £12.00(d) 

74780TDSDD £12.75(d) 


3.5" Discs in packs of 10 
80TSSDD £13.50(d) 
80TDSDD £15.00(d) 


(Add £1 for library case packing) 



50 5.25" 40 T single sided discs with sleeves 
in lockable box. £25(b) 

50 5.25" 80 T double sided discs with sleeves 
in lockable box. £32(b) 

50 3.5" 80T double sided discs with sleeves 
in lockable box. £60(b) 


FLOPPICLENE DRIVE HEAD 
CLEANING KIT 
5.25" Kit with 20 disposable discs 
3.5" Kit with 20 disposable discs 


£14.00(d) 

£14.75(d) 


DISC STORAGE BOXES 
DB340 Lockable 40 x 3.5" 
DB550 Lockable 50 x 5.25" 
DB570 Lockable 70x5.25" 
DB5100 Lockable 100 x 5.25" 


£8.50(c) 
£6.50(c) 
£8.50(c) 
£10. 50(c) 


±t 


-L-L-Ll I I I l_l . I I I I I I I I I I I I I _L1_U_U- 


All prices ex VAT and subject to change without notice. 

tttl-t-H-l i 1111 1111 1 1 11 1 11 1 11 1 











rrm r i n i iii i iirifiTTTT 



Technomatic 

305 Kdgwarc Road, London \\ 2 Tel: 01-723 0233 


PRINTERS 


EPSON 

£179(a) LQ500 
£309(a) LQ850 
£405(a) LQ1050 
£409(a) LQ2500+ 

£549(a) 

GQ3500 Laser Printer £1249(a) 

Taxan KP815 £159(a) TaxanKP915 £275(a) 


LX800 

FX800 

FX1000 

EX800 

EX1000 


£279(a) 

£419(a) 

£589(a) 

£849(a) 


Star LC 10 
Star LC 10 Colour 


£175(a) 

£229(a) 


NATIONAL PANASONIC 

KXP1081* £145(a) KXP1082* £172(a) 

(* includes Wysiwyg ROM + Master Lead) 


KXP3131 with 38K buffer 
Canon PW1080 
Canon Laser LBP8-II 
Brother HR20 Daisy Wheel 
Juki 6100 Daisy Wheel 
Integrex Colour Inkjet 


£245(a) 

£179(a) 

£1595(a) 

£349(a) 

£295(a) 

£515(a) 


PLOTTERS 


Hitachi 672XD A3 4 Colour HPGL £499(a) 

Plotmate A4S £379(a) 

Plotmate A3M £549(a) 

Roland 880 A3 Flat bed 8 col £599(a) 

Variety of Plotter pens and accessories in stock. 
Larger Plotters available . Please enquire. 


EPSON EQ500 


Epson’s budget 24pin letter quality printer pro- 
vides unrivalled print quality with two built in 
letter quality fonts and widest repertoire of type 
styles at low cost. Sans Serif and Roman or draft 
font can be selected from the front panel. 
Maximum resolution of 360 x 180 dpi. 

Friction and tractor as standard. Parallel interfa- 
ce. Designed for low noise operation 55dB(A). 
Introductory price incl. master lead £279(a) 


l.PSON I.X800 


Epson’s latest budget printer offers a host of new 
features all utilising Epson’s unrivalled knowhow 
of printer technology and reliability. 

★ 180 cps draft/25cps NLQ ★ two modern fonts as 
std: Sans Serif and ROMAN. NLQ font selection 
from front panel ★ Tractor and friction feed 

★ Single sheet guide with auto load switch. 
Original + 2 copies. 

★ 3K input buffer with character downloading 
facility 

★ Fully compatible with BBC & IBM graphics 

★ Centronics interface as standard 

★ Price including BBC master lead £179(a) 


PRINTER STAND 


A new style printer stand with easy paper feed and 
paper seperation, provides complete access to 
paper. Can be used with both top and bottom 
paper feed. Very space efficient. £26 (b) 



PRINTER Bi l l I RS 
SHARER <X CONVERTERS 


TSB 256 Auto Sharer/Buffer 

256K buffer with 3 input ports. Each port 
scanned automatically every 10 secs until data 
found. PAUSE, COPY and RESET Facitilies. 

Full spec on request. 

Smart Printer Buffers 

Facilities include: COPY upto 265 copies 

PAUSE, RESET, Self-Test. 

For serial: X-on/X-off, ETX/ACK or DTR/DTS 
protocols independently selectable baud rate 
for each port 

PP256256K Parallel buffer 
SS256256K Serial buffer 
Parallel Multi-Spoolers 
Allows connecting 2 printers to 2 or 4 computers 
Butter allows quick dumping of data to free the 
computers 

COPY allows upto 999 copies, SELF-TEST, 
PAUSE, CLEAR 

MS422 4computers/2printers 5 12K buffer 
MS223 2computers/2 printers 5 12K butter 
Auto switching Printer Sharers 
Allows 2, 4 or 8 computers to share 1 printer 
Auto Self Test, READY and BUSY indicators 


£169(a) 


£169(b) 
£ 1 89( b) 


£299(b) 

£199(b) 



Parallel 

Serial 

2 input/1 output 


£49 

£49(c) 

4 input/1 output 


£59 

£69(0 

8 input/1 output 

All units Pitted with 25D Connectors 
Serial/Parallel/Serial Converters 

£85 

£85(c) 

Compact economical converters which 


support X-on/X-off, ETX/ACK, 
protocols 

DTR/DSR 


C-PS Parallel/Serial converter 

£35(c) 


C-SP Serial Parallel converter 

£35(0 


Add £49 to above prices for units with 64K butter 
Manual Printer Sharers: 


(All lines are switched). 

Parallel 

Serial 

2 computers to one printer 


£25(0 

£25(0 

3 computers to one printer 


£39(0 

£39(0 

4 computers to one printer 


£45(0 

£45(0 

2 computers to lor 2 printers 


£49(0 

£49(c) 


£12(£3.50) 

£18.50(£4.50) 

£I8.00(£4.00) 


Cable sets for above sharers available for all popular computers 

BBC Computer Sharer: TCS26 

1 computer to 2 printers fitted with BBC cable 

Paper & Labels 

Plain fanfold paper with microperforation: 

2000 sheets 9Vi x 11" 

2000sheets 14V4X1P 
1500 sheets A490gsm 

Labels/1000 

Single Row 3^ x l 7 /i6 
Triple Row 2 7 /i6 x 7 /i6 
OHP Transparencies A4 

PRINTER LEADS 

BBC/Master Parallel Lead ( 1 .2M) 

BBC/Master Parallel Lead (2.0M) 

Compact Parallel Lead (1.2M) 

Archimides Parallel Lead (2M) 


£ 21(0 


£5(d) 

£5(d) 

£55(b) 


£5(d) 

£7(d) 

£7(d) 

£7(d) 


MODEMS 


MIRACLE WS4000 V21/23 
MIRACLE WS3000 V21/23 
MIRACLE WS3000 V22 
MIRACLE WS3000 V22 bis 
Pace Linnet 

(All modems are BABT approved) 


£1 29(b) 
£244(b) 
£379(b) 
£495(b) 
£139(b) 


BBC Data Cabfe for WS3000/4000 


£10(d) 


MIRACLE WS2000V21/23 & BELL stds £92(c) 


MONITORS 


All Monitors supplied with a suitable lead. 


12", 14" and 20" MONITORS 


£179(a) 

£199(a) 

£225(a) 

£255(a) 

£359(a) 


£219(a) 


£149(a) 

and PC 


Microvitec 1431 
Std Res, 14" 

Microvitec 1431AP 
Std Res + PAL/Aud, 14" 

Microvitec 1451 
Med Res, 14" 

Microvitec 145 1AP 
Med Res + PAL/Aud, 14" 

Microvitec 1441 
Hi Res, 14" 

Philips 8833 14" RGB 
Med Res, 14", high contract screen, 

TTL/Linear Input, Mono/Colour 
Switch Sound Input. Separate 
controls for brilliance and 
contrast. This is the monitor used by 
Acorn with Archimedes and Compact 
Computers. 

Sanyo CRT 70 

14" High Resolution Colour Monitor 
Compatible with Master , B, Compact , 
compatibles 
Microvitec 2030CS 
20" Standard Resolution RGB/ 

Comp Video 
Microvitec 2040CS 
20" High Resolution RGB/Comp 
Video 

TAXAN SUPER VISION 620 
12" Hi Res/Hi Contrast Option to 
switch to green/amber BBC/IBM 
Compatible 

TAXAN SUPER VISION 625 
12" Super Hi Res and contrast RGB 
Monitor with option to switch to 
mono BBC/IBM compatible. 

TAXAN 770+ 

MultiSysnc Autoscan 14", ideal for 
utilising the hi res modes on 
Archimedes. Our price includes a 
tilt & swivel stand 

NEC MultiSync II 14" 

Enhanced version of the original NEC MultiSync. 
complete with tilt & swivel base. Suitable for 
Archimedes and PC compatibles. £489(a) 


£380(a) 

£675(a) 


£269(a) 

£319(a) 


£495(a) 


MONOCHROME MONITORS 


*■ 


PHILIPS 7552 

14" green screen monitor. 

This is a new addition to the Philips’ popular 
mono monitors. Features include Flat screen, 
Reverse video switch, separate brilliance and 
contrast controls £85(a) 

PHILIPS BM 7502 

Hi Res green screen £7 2(a) 

PHILIPS BM 7522 

Hi Res amber screen £79(a) 

Tilt & Swivel Stand for 

Philips Mono £6(c) 


MONITOR ACCESSORIES 


Microvitec Swivel Base 
(14" plastic monitors) 

Monitor Stand Models B & B + 
Monitor Stand Master 
Double Tier Stand Models B , 

B+ or Master 
Taxan RGB Lead 
Microvitec Lead 
Monochrome BNC/Phono Lead 
Copy Holder Self Supporting A4 


£17(0 

£ 10(0 

£13(0 


£24(b) 

£7(d) 

£4(d) 

£4(d) 

£15(0 


T_ 


4-14-44-14-14-14 - m I I I I TT I - I-I-14-U4- 


All prices ex VAT and subject to change without notice. 
M I M I l i l M I I I 111 I I I I 1 1 1TTTT 


3- 










Technomatic 

17 Burnley Road, London NW 10 1 ED I el: 01-208 1 177 


C A D / D R A W 1 N G PACKAGES 


NOVACAD 


Cad Package for B, B & MASTER. 
(See page 5 for specification) 


Tracker Ball/Mouse Version (TM) 

£49 (d) 

TM Version plus Tracker Ball 

£94 (d) 

TM Version plus Mouse 

£79 (d) 

Plotter Driver Generator 

£15 (d) 

If purchased with No vac ad 

£12 (d) 

MOUSE 

AMX MOUSE with SUPER ART 

(pse specify B, B+ or Master) 

£59 (d) 

STOP PRESS (Pagemaker) 

£32 (d) 

EXTRA/EXTRA 
(utility for the Pagemaker) 

£ 19(d) 

MAX 

£17 (d) 

STAND ALONE MOUSE 

£34 (c) 

RB2 TRACKER BALL 

RB2 Tracker Ball with Icon Master 
(forB, B+ & Master) 

RB2 Tracker Ball with Cursor 

£59 (c) 

Control Rom (for Master only) 

£59 (c) 

RB2 Tracker Ball ‘Stand Alone’ 
for use with NOVACAD & 
other software) 

£47 (c) 

Cursor Control Rom for Master £12.50 (d) 

MIRRORSOFT FLEET 
STREET EDITOR 

£35 (d) 

TIM K WARI* 

Real Time Clock, Plugs into the 
user port, battery back up as 
standard, includes manual, demo 
software including a diary/planner 
application program 

£29(d) 

BBC SOFT/FIRMWARE 


DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 


VIEWSTORE 

STARdataBASE 

MASTERFILE II 

ACORN OVERVIEW PACKAGE 

Special Offer 

(RRP £86) 

INTERBASE 


£36 (d) 
£39 (d) 
£17 (d) 


£69 (b) 
£49 (d) 


WORD PROCESSORS 

ACORN VIEW PROFESSIONAL (BBC 

) £69 (c) 

VIEW 2.1 

£35 (d) 

VIEW 3.0 

£45 (c) 

Double View Rom Version 
Double View Disc Version 
(for Master & Compact) 

£42 (d) 
£33 (d) 

VIEW INDEX 

VIEW PRINTER DRIVER 

£12 (d) 

GENERATOR 

£8(d) 

VIEWSPELL 

£29 (d) 

DOT PRINT PLUS 

£28 (d) 

WORDWISE 

£24 (d) 

WORDWISE PLUS 

£38 (d) 

WYSIWYG PLUS 

£21 (d) 

SPELLMASTER 

£42 (d) 

INTERWORD 

£36 (d) 

WORDEASE 

£24 (d) 

SPELLCHECK III 

£31 (d) 

EDWORD II 

r ------ ~ 

4 - 

£43 ( C ) 


SPREADSHEETS 


VIEWSHEET 

WINDOMATIC (A Viewsheet Utility) 

VIEWPLOT 

INTERSHEET 

INTERCHART 

ULTRACALC 

MINI OFFICE II DISC Version 
ForB&B+ 40T or 80T 
For Master 80T 
For Compact 

MINI OFFICE II ROM Version 

For Master, Compact, B + & B 

MEGA 3Rom 

CC’s integrated package offering 
Intershect & Interchart on one 128K 
Master, Compact, B+ & B 


£36 (d) 
£15 (d) 
£22 (d) 
£37 (d) 
£25 (d) 
£26 (d) 


£14 (d) 
£16 (d) 
£19 (d) 


£43 (c) 
£76 (b) 

Interword, 
ROM. For 


LANGUAGES 

META ASSEMBLER 

£145 (b) 

TEAM DISASSEMBLER 

£145 (b) 

MACROM 

£33 (d) 

ACORNSOFF 4 C’ 

£40 (c) 

ACORN MICRO PROLOG 

£62 (d) 

ISO-PASCAL 

£51 (c) 

ISO-PASCAL STAND ALONE 


GENERATOR 

£30 (d) 

OXFORD PASCAL 


(40 or 80T) Specify B or B + 

£36 (d) 

OXFORD PASCAL 


for Masicr 

£52 (d) 

ACORN LOGO 

£46 (c) 

LOGOTRON LOGO 

£55 (c) 

BBC PUBLICATIONS OPEN LOGO 

£59 (c) 

ACORN LISP ROM 

£39 (d) 

ACORN FORTH ROM 

£39 (d) 

ACORN COMAL ROM 

£39 (d) 

Advanced BASIC Disc 

£26 (d) 

(for B, B+ & Master + 6502 2nd Processor) 


MICROTEXT 

£52 (c) 

MICROTEXT PLUS 

£229 (b) 

COMMUNICATIONS 

TERMULATOR 

£25 (d) 

COMMSTAR II 

£28 (d) 

MAYA Comms Package lUtt. 


See next page for details 

£49 (d) 

MODEM MASTER 

£11 (d) 

COMMAND 

£34 (d) 

MASTER TERMULATOR £ 

34.75 (d) 

UTILITIES 

ACORN ADFS ROM 

£26 (d) 

ACORN BASIC EDITOR 

£24 (d) 

MONITOR (BBC Pub) 

£19 (d) 

SLEUTH 

£23 (d) 

TOOLKIT PLUS 

£31 (d) 

TOOLBOX 2 (BBC Pub) Manual 

£9.50 (d) 

Cassette 

£9 (d) 

ACORN GXR GRAPHICS ROM 


specify B or B + 

£24(d) 

PRINTMASTER 

£24 (d) 

PRINTWISE 

£24 fd) 

DUMPMASTER 

£26 (d) 

FONTWISE PLUS 

£17 (d) 

ADV TELETEXT UTILITIES ROM 

£7.95 (d) 

COMPACT (all on 3'/2 w disc) 

ARTROOM 

£27 (d) 

FONTWISE + 

£22 (d) 

FONT EDITOR 

£22 (d) 

BETABASE 

£27 (d) 

WHITE KNIGHT MKII 

-_U, 1 1 1 LI. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 l l l i i i i i 

£16 (d) 

LLI 1 1 1 


BBC PUBLICATIONS 
EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE 



A series of programs developed in many cases along- 
side Radio & TV programmes by BBC’s Education 
Department which supplement the classroom studies 
by moving and colourful displays helping in clear 
understanding of a variety of subjects. Some packages 
also include audio cassettes. 


PRIMARY EDUCATION 


ASTRONOMY £11 (d) 

COMPUTERS AT WORK Aud/EC/disc£16 (c) 
PICTURE CRAFT Disc£17 (d) 

INTRODUCING GEOGRAPHY Disc£16 (d) 
MATHS WITH A STORY 1 Cass£8 (d) 

MATHS WITH A STORY 2 Cass£8 (d) 

NUMBER GAMES Cass/EC£7.50 (d) 

USING YOUR COMPUTER Cass£24 (c) 
THE HALL OF MIRRORS Disc£13(d) 

MATHS Disc+AudCas£17(d) 


SECONDARY LEARNING 


£21.50 (c) 
£10.50 (d) 


Disc£23 (d) 


Disc£17 (d) 
Prog Cass£10 (d) 
Audio Cass£5 (d) 


TECHNOLOGY & DESIGN Ptl 
ELECTRIC FIELDS 
ADVANCED LEVEL 
STUDIES: STATISTICS 
ADVANCED STUDIES: 

GEOGRAPHY 
INSIDE INFORMATION 
Book£8-(d) 

OPEN LEARNING 

PACK Disc/AudCas+book£36(b) 

SCIENCE TOPICS (ST) 

S.T.:WAVES 
S.T. RELATIONSHIPS 
S.T.:BONDING 
S.T. ELECTROMAGNETIC 
SPECTRUM 

S.T. ELECTRONICS IN ACTION Disc£14 
S.T.:NEWTON & THE SHUTTLE Disc£19 


Disc£14 (d) 
Disc£14 (d) 
Disc£14 (d) 


Disc/EC£19 
Disc/EC£19 (d) 


Disc£20 (d) 
Disc£20 (d) 


S.T.ECOLOGY 
S.T.:POLYMERS 
S.T.:CLASSIFICATION & 

PERIODIC TABLE 
S.T.EOOD & POPULATION 
SEC.SCIENCE 
MICROTECHNOLOGY 
SEC.SCIENCE:THE 
MOLE CONCEPT Disc/Aud/EC£16 (c) 
BIRD SPY Disc£13(d) 

GEORDIE Racer Disc£13(d) 


Cass£7 (d) 


GENERAL 


VU-TYPE PROFESSIONAL 
WHITE KNIGHT MK II 
(for 1770 DFS) 
BATTLEFIELDS 
A VOUS LA FRANCE 

Book£5.25 (d) 


Disc£19 (d) 


Disc£16 (d) 
Cass£8.50 (d) 
Disc£20 (d) 
Aud Cass(2)£7 (d) 


ESPANAVIVA 

Audio Cass(2)£8 (d) 


DEUTSCH DIREKT 


Disc£19(d) 
Book£6.95 (d) 
(2) £7.50 (a) 
Disc/aud/EC£16 (c) 
Book£5.95 (d) 

BLACK QUEEN 

A long awaited bridge game. ( 1 770DFS) 

BISMARCK 

History of the famous battleship. 

(1770DFS) £ 13(d) 


£13(d) 


All software in this advertisement has been tested to 
work with appropriate Acorn Disc Filing Systems only 
and we are unable to comment on compatibility with 
any other filing system. It will be the buyers 
responsibility to verify such compatibility. 


All prices ex VAT and subject to change without notice. 

T\ I I I I I I I I. l i '-l I I I I I IT l l l l l i i -t 







rn m m i n m i li i i I - Hi 1 1 1 MiMMnmimnnmn i m 



Technomatic 

305 Kdgware Road, London W 2 T el: 01-723 0233 


hooks 


No VAT Carriage Code (c) 

LANGUAGES 

6502 Assy Lang Prog £19.95 

6502 Programming £13.95 

8086 Book £23.95 

Acorn BCP1 User Guide £15.00 

Acorn FORTH £7.50 

Acorn LISP £7.50 

Acorn ISO Pascal Ref Manual £10.00 

Intro to COMAL £10.00 

Intro to LOGO £7.50 

Micro Prolog Ref Manual £10.00 

Introduction to Turbo Pascal £14.95 

Prog the Micro with Pascal £8.50 

The Supervisor’s BBC Micro £10.95 

BBC MICRO GUIDE BOOKS 

Inside Information £8.95 

Maths Prog in BBC Basic £7.95 

The Friendly Computer Book £4.50 

Toolbox 2 £10.95 

ARCHIMEDES 

Archimedes Reference Manual £29.95(b) 

ARM Assembly Language Prog £12.95(b) 

PROGRAMMING/UTILITY 

Advanced Sideways Ram User Guide £9.95 

Advanced User Guide (BBC) £15.95 

Applied Assembly Language on the BBC ...£9.95 

BBC Micro Advance Programming £9.95 

BBC Micro Ref Guide (B Smith) £10.95 

BBC Micro Sideways ROM’s RAM’s £9.95 

Guide to the BBC Rom £9.95 

Beginners Guide to W.P £7.95 

Mastering Assembly Code £8.95 

Mastering Interpreters & Compilers £14.95 

Master Operating System £6.95 

Mastering View, Viewsheet & Viewstore....£12.95 

View by B. Smith £12.95 

View 3.0 User Guide £9.00 

Viewstore User Guide £9.00 

Viewsheet User Guide £9.00 

Wordwise Plus ...’ £9,95 

SOUND & GRAPHICS 

Computer Graphics & CAD Fundementals .£9.95 
Mastering Music £6.95 

DISC DRIVE SYSTEMS 

Advanced Disc User Guide £16.95 

Disc Book £3.50 

Disc Programming Techniques £7.95 

Disc Systems £6.95 

File Handling on the BBC £6.95 

Discovering Disc Drives £POA 

Practical Disc File Techniques £5.95 

Mastering the Disc Drive £12.95 

Mastering DOS plus £12.95 

APPLICATIONS 

Interfacing Proj for BBC £6.95 

BBC and Small Business £5.75 

The Software Business £5.50 


Mustering Operating System 
{ David Atherton) t6.95 


Check on new books in stock 


Wysiwyg m.uk 


WYSIWYG PLUS is a printer and screen utility for Wordwise Plus, View, Interword, and Basic users, 
supplied on a 16K Eprom. To obtain a particular printer effect, such as enlarged text, it used to be 
necessary to discover the appropriate ‘printer control code’ from your manual and incorporate it into 
your text. Secondly, you had to print several trial copies in order to position the effect correctly in 
relation to the rest of your text. 

WYSIWYG PLUS simplifies this trial and error approach using easily remembered "“commands. For 
example, "'ENLARGED not only selects enlarged text on your printer, but uniquely shows you double 
width characters on your screen, even from within Wordwise Plus! 

WYSIWYG PLUS incorporates a logo editor. Just draw your design on screen using the arrow keys, and 
save the results. Use the "'GRAPHICS command to incorporate your design anywhere in your text; 
position and see your design in your text before faithfully reproducing a hard copy. 

There is also special help for daisy wheel users. The "‘WHEEL command will prompt you to change 
daisy wheels whenever a change in type style is about to occur. 

WYSIWYG PLUS is designed to work with the following systems: 

BBC Model B 6502 Second Processor, BBC Master 128 

BBC Model B+ Turbo coprocessor All printers (Except lasers) 

WYSIWYG PLUS workspace is relocatable. f 21(d) 


MAYA TERMINAL KMULATOR 


A comms package for the professional user. MAYA emulates DEC VT52, VT100 and Tandberg 
TDV2215. Special BBC VDU mode allows full access to the BBC VDU driver. 

Menu driven software allows the setting up of parameters and function key definitions which can be 
saved to disc for future use. 

Flexible command parser provides a uniform user interface and allows full access to * commands and 
HELP facilities. 

Xmodem and Kermit file transfer protocols are included as standard. Unique feature of MAYA is 
that Kermit can also be used in ‘remote mode’, which allows file transfers to be initiated by other 
computers connected to the BBC. File transfers can also be done with a ‘dumb’ ASCII protocol. Open 
architecture allows for expansion and addition of new features. Options currently under development 
arc graphics drivers for Tektronix 4010/4014 emulation, TDGR driver for TDV2215 and a Viewdata 
patch (provisional version included in the current issue). Registered users will be provided with regular 
updates and customisation service will also be available to those interested. 

The package comprises of a rom, utils disc and a comprehensive manual. It is compatible with Master, 
Models B & B-f . It supports DFS, ADFS, NFS and ANFS filing systems. £49(d) 


BLACK QUEEN 


VC-TYPE 


A contract bridge program from BBC Publica- 
tions both for beginners and for club players. 
Features include rebid and/or reply of any deal 
just played. Deals can be saved to a disc. Unique 
feature of Black Queen is its ability to construct 
deals from standard or classic ones in newspapers 
etc. 

Compatible with Master, B and B+ £13(d) 


EDUCATION AL/LUN 
SOFTWARE BUNDLE 


Do you have finger trouble when typing? 

Do your letters look like this? 

Dear Sor, 

I wuold like to... 
then you need: 

VU-type, a complete touch typing program pro- 
duced by BBC/Pitman. 

It allows you to learn at your own pace and has a 
wide range of exercises. Screen displays show the 
keys you have pressed and it will report on your 
speed and accuracy. 

Supplied on a 40T Disc with a manual. 

Available at a special price of £7.50(d) instead of 
the usual £15. Offer valid while stocks last. 


Drawstick 

Locomotion 


Wordmover 

Wordplay Pantry Antics 

These programs are supplied from the BBC 
Publications Educational Software range and will 
be supplied on a 5.25" disc for BBC Master, B+ 
and B and on a 3.5" disc for the Compact. 

5.25" Disc £17.50(d) 

3.5" Disc £18.50(d) 

(Normal RRP over £40) 

See the previous page for comments on compatibility. 


BISMARCK 


An enthralling game of strategy involving the 
famous German battleship of the same name. 

You can play the role of British Navy in its quest 
to find the Bismarck and sink it or take either 
British or German role against another player. It 
requires the highest qualities of judgement, obser- 
vation and decision to plan strategy and tactics to 
plot the death of Bismarck. £13(d) 


PRINTER ACCESSORIES 

EPSON ACCESSORIES: 

8143 RS232 £32 (d) 

8148 + RS232 + 8k £79 (d) 

IEEE 488 £40 (d) 

Apple II £40 (d) 

Colour option of EX800/1000 £55 (d) 

TRACTOR FEEDERS 

LQ800 £44 (b) 

LQ1000 £55 (b) 

LQ850 £70 (b) 

LQ1050 £85 (b) 

LQ2500+ £90 (b) 

EX800 £85 (b) 

EX 1000 £90(b) 

SHEET FEEDERS: 

LQ800/850 £159 (b) 

LQ1000/1050 £189 (b) 


EX800/FX800 £159 (b) 

EX 1 000/LQ2500 + £225 (b) 

FX1000 £189 (b) 

Ribbons: 

FX/FX100/100 + , FX105 £7(d) 

RX/FX80, FX85/800 £4 (d) 

LX80/LX800 £4.50 (d) 

LQ800/850 £6(d) 

LQ 1000/ 1050 £7.75 (d) 

EX800/1000 Black £7.50 (d) 

EX800/1000 Colour £16.80 (d) 

HI 80 Pen Set (Aqueous/Ball point) 

£8.25 (d) 

HITACHI 672 Plotter 
Aqueous Pen Set six pens ....£18.50 (d) 
Oil Based Pen Set six pens... £25.00 (d) 
TAXAN CANON Accessories: 

Ribbon, KPS 1 0/8 1 5/9 10/915 £6 (d) 


Star Printer 

NL10/LC10 Sheet Feeder £55 (b) 

NL10/LC10 Ribbon £4.50 (b) 

National Panasonic KX PI 080/81 

Spare Ribbon £4.50 (d) 

KXP3131 Tractor £90 (a) 

KXP3131 Sheet Feeder £189 (a) 

KXP3131 Ribbon £4.50(d) 


JUKI 6100 

Tractor Feed £149 (a) 

Sheet Feeder £219 (a) 

Ribbon (Carbon) £2.00 (d) 

BROTHER HR20 

Sheet Feeder £229(a) 

Tractor Feed £116 (a) 

Spare Ribbon Nylon £3.00 (d) 

Spare Ribbon Carbon £4.50(d) 


INTEGREX INK JET COLOUR 

PRINTER 

Spare Ink Cartridge Black £8 (d) 

Spare Ink Cartridge Colour £14 (d) 

Paper Roll £7 (d) 

Printer Leads: 

BBC Parallel Lead (1.2m) £6 (d) 

PAPER & LABELS 

Plain Fanfold paper with micro 

perforations: 

2000 sheets 9J" x 1 1" 60 gsm/sq m ..£12 
(£3.50) 

2000 sheets 141" x 11" 60 gsm/sq m 

£18.50 (£4.50) 

1500 sheets A4 90 gsm £18 (£3.50) 

Labels/1000: 

Single Row 3J x 1^" £5.25 (d) 

Triple Row 26" x l£ £5 (d) 


-H-H-l I 1 1 11 1 11 1-1 14 -1- 11 1 M 11 1 - 1-1- 


All prices ex VAT and subject to change without notice. 


T~1 f I I I I II I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 


:s:: 











Technomatic 


MVILORDI R&RI l \IL 
17 Buriilo Road 
London NW10 II I) 
lav: 01-452 1500 
Iclcv: 922800 


R1 1 YILSllOPS 

15/17 Biirulev Road, London \'\> 10 11.1) 
I cl: 01-2081 177 I clev: 922800 
(close (o Dollis Mill**) 

\> csl I*, nil Branch 
405 l-.dguare Road, London \\ 2 
I cl: 01-724 0244, 01-402 0444 
(near Ldguarc Road 4*) 


Lor fast delivery telephone 
your order on 01-208 1177 
usinj* MSA/ Access Card 


Orders welcome from 
government dcpts& 
educational establishments 


All prices e\\ VI . 
Prices arc subject to 
change without notice 
Please add carriage 

(a) £8.00 (Courier) 

(b) £2.50 
(e) £1.50 
(d) £1.00 


NON AC AD 

Computer Aided Draiiyhtiiiy 
Svstem 


Novacad can drive a plotter to produce drawings of highest quality... 
Novacad is excellent. It is flexible, genuinely easy to operate 
without much practice, and a pleasure to use. Beebug Dec 86 

A sophisticated CAD package with unique 
facilities. Thousands of Novacad packages are 
being used in widely differing fields ranging 
from industries for producing engineering' 
drawings to accountants offices for producing 
flow charts. Architects, engineers, plumbers, 
kitchen planners and many other professions 
requiring easy to use facilities for producing 
high quality output are making extensive use 
of Novacad’s unique features. Novacad r is 
proving to be an invaluable teaching aid in 
technical schools simply because of the ease 
with which it can be used. 



Novacad is compatible with all models fitted 
with Acorn DFS. Hardware requirements can 
be minimum; single drive and FX80 
compatible printer are enough to get started, 
though its performance is enhanced 
considerably by use of 6502 2nd processor, 
dual drive and to a degree with B + and 
Master’s shadow ram. 


The major features offered are: 

★ Simple and easy to use with logical command 
sequence. 

★ A large drawing area (approx 15 screens) 

★ Unique ability to create complex icons made 
up of upto 500 lines instead of the usual 15 to 
20 pixels, store them in a library and recall 
them at different scales and orientations. 

★ Zoom facility. 

★ Create multi level drawings. 

★ Text entry at any 90° orientation anywhere on 
the screen. 


★ Grid scaling and locking, displacement 
measurements. 


★ Printer routine for FX80/100 compatible 
printers 

★ Cursor control from keyboard/tracker ball/ 
mouse. 


Plotter driver generator available as an optional 
utility, configures a routine for any BBC 
coompatible plotter. Pre configured routines for 
popular plotters like Epson HI80, Hitachi, 
Plotmate are included. Drawings can be scaled to 
maximumm plotter size. 

NOVACAD T/M Version £49(d) 

NOVACAD T/M + Plotter DG £61(c) 

Plotter Driver Generator £15(d) 


EpromRyter 


♦Highly sophisticated & Advanced Programmer 
♦All current single rail eproms handled 
♦State of the Art Programming Algorithms 




EpromRyter is a powerful eprom programmer 
designed for use with the BBC Master Computer. 
It takes full advantage of the latest developments 
in the eprom technology and the extra facilities on 
the Master to provide fast, simple and efficient 
programming and editing facilities. 

The software is totally menu driven and on 
screen help messages make the programming 
simple for both specialists and novices alike. 

The EPROMRYTER interfaces with the 
Master through 1MHz bus. It is mains powered 
with its own psu. 3M Textool zif socket has been 
fitted to ensure consistent and reliable service 
over long periods. 


The single rail eproms handled by the EpromRyter are: 

• 2716 2732 2764 27128 27256 27512 27513 2701 1 I 

2516 2532 2564 (NM0S& CMOS) 

• One time eproms P27XXX, 87CXXX etc. | 

• Also A suffix eproms such as 27XXXA i 


£89(b) + VAT 


META Ver III ASSEMBLER 


“All the good features you would expect to find in a good source code 
editor are present ... Meta assembler lives in a different world. It is 
structured to work with any new processor ...as new instruction sets 
can be added ...as needed ... has a well featured editor with colour 
highlighting, a sound modular approach. ’ ’ Acorn User October 1986 


• Assembles for over 30 popular processors, 
including Z80, 6800/01/02/04/05/09/1 1 etc - and 
68000 - using native mnemonics for each 
processor, eg LD A, (HL) for Z80 and MOV 
A0, $1000 for 68000 etc. 

• Fully integrated Editor: four field, all search, 
search/replace, block copy, delete, move, 
marked save, load etc. 

• Compatible with Portal Eprom Emulators and 
Team Disassembler. 

• Send object code in Intel Hex, S-Record, 
straight binary etc. down to discs, RS232, 
parallel port, Eprom Emulators etc - all 
during Assembly. 

• Over 50 directives included as standard: 
handling nestable macros, conditional 
assembly and twenty types of table definition 
directives. 

• 32 bit labels; 31 character names. Arithmetic 
and Boolean arithmetic to 32 bits. 

• Modular source code with numeric and string 
parameter passing. 

• Serial communicator area with eight options 
lines: echo, control code trap, LF suppression/ 
addition etc. 

• Over 500 in use throughout the world in 
universities and many different industries. 

• Two 16K Roms, two 80 track discs, A4 
ring-bound manual, function-key strip. 

£145(b) 


EEROM ER II 



A proven Eprom programmer for BBC Model B 
and' B+ with thousands in use in industry, 
educational and R&D establishments. It offers 
many of the powerful features of the EpromRyter 
and can program all single rail eproms upto 27256. 
Full details on request. £89(b) 


PORTAL EPROM 
EMULATORS 


Emulates 2716, 2732, 2764, 27128, 27256, 
27512 eproms at 150ns Access time. 

Load at 4Kbytes/second - No “erase” time. 

28 pin header plugs into Eprom socket on 
target system - status monitored on 13 Leds. 

® Fully software controlled from Meta 
Assembler. 

# 100 times faster than standard EPROM 
program/erase cycle. 

# Fully CMOS compatible; draws no power 
from target system. 

# Four portals may be independently 
programmed off same user-port cable. 

# Complete with all cables, manual and disc. 

PORTAL 512 (2716, 2732, 2764, 27128, 27256, 
27512). £245(b) 


TEAM DISASSEMBLER 


The third part of the Universal Development 

System: a Meta labelling disassembler. 

Supports 1802, 8080, 8085, #HD64180, Z80, 

65XX (includes 65 col, 6511 etc), 68XX (includes 

00,01,02,03,08 etc): 

• Up to 64K of object code translated back into 
META compatible source code modules: 
labels automatically inserted on all jump 
targets, memory references etc. 

• Pre-editing stage allows marking of object 
code areas as byte, string, word, long word 
etc, tables. These areas disassembled into 
appropriate directives instead of garbage 
mnemonics. 

• Reconstituted source code ready for 
immediate re-assembly by META. 

• Omniversal search/repalce for re-naming 
arbitrary label names with meaningful ones. 

£145(b) 

1 

This advertisement can only show an example 
of the range of products stocked by 
Technomatic. So send for our latest BBC 
cat; 


italogue providing detailed information and 

prices on BBC Computer Systems, 
pe . . - - - 


’eripherals, Software and Books. To obtain 
your free copy please complete and return the 
coupon below. 

Technomatic is a BBC Computer and Econet 
Referral Centre providing a professional and 
reliable service to the BBC user. 


NAME 

ADDRESS. 


.PostCode . 


Return to Technomatic Ltd, 17 Burnley Road, 
London NW101ED 


__ 6 - 


4-M-m-M44-i.-l--M-l.-l I 1 1 I I I r II I I I 


All prices ex VAT and subject to change without notice. 

rmriT 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 








OFFERS 

SUBSCRIPTION SAVER 



BBC MASTER ELECTRON ARCHIMEDES 


AUGUST 1W(1 HICOrsT AND BfSTSfi l «G 86CACORN MA6A21NE 

ADVENTURES 

A decade of frustration Plus Warlord on disc 

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dump in stylo 

PRINTER SURVEY: 

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ONLY £1.30 

Still the best value 


12 discs and 12 
magazines for £50 

•For a limited period only we are offering Acorn User readers 
the opportunity to subscribe to Acorn User magazine and the 
Acorn User monthly discs for a mere £50, a saving of £7.50. 

If you take advantage of this offer we guarantee that you will 
receive 12 issues of Acorn User magazine and 12 of the 
accompanying monthly discs. Each disc contains the best 
quality programs, routines and utilities and saves you the 
laborious chore of typing in the listings from the magazine, to 
say nothing of the hours of de-bugging. 

This offer is open to UK subscribers only. Hurry, post the 
coupon off today! 

| Yes! Please start my subscription to Acorn User magazine and 
| monthly discs with the issue. 

| I enclose a cheque/postal order made payable to Redwood Publishing 


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| Redwood Publishing Ltd, Marlborough Road, Aldboume, Wiltshire SN8 2DD. 


p&_h electronics Ltd 


5 THE PARADE, 
YATELEY 
HANTS 

TEL: 0252 877222 


22 24 GUILDFORD ROAD 
BAGSHOT, SURREY 
TEL: BAGSHOT 0276 74533 


Archimedes 


..£820.00 

...£875.00 


~£1035.00 


A310 No Monitor 

A310 Mono Monitor 

A310 Colour Monitor 

A310M No Monitor + MS-DOS. £885.00 

A310M Mono + MS-DOS £940.00 

A310m Colour^ MS-DOS £1100.00 

A410 No Monitor XI 480.00 

£1535.00 

, — .£1695.00 
...£2440.00 


ARCH-PODULES/UPGRADES 
0.5 Mbyte RAM for 305. 


£95.00 


A410 Mono Monitor 

A410 Colour Monitor.. 
A440 No Monitor... 


A440 Mono Monitor £2490.00 

A440 Colour Monitor £2650.00 


Floppy Disc — 

...£130.00 

20 Mbyto Hard Disc + Podule.., 
Podule Back Plane— 

....£540.00 
£42.00 

ROM Pnriuln 

f 64.00 

I/O Podule 

£85 00 

Midi add-on to 10 

£31.00 

Arch Ref Manual 

£29.00 


MASTER SYSTEM 


MASTER SERIES 
Master 128- 


Master Turbo Module 

Master 512 Module 

Master Eprom Cartridge - 
Master Manual 1 or 2. 


..£420.00 
—£115.00 
..£ 210.00 
— 212.50 


-£14.95 


CUMANA DISC DRIVES 

CSX100 100K 40T £105.00 

CSX400/S 400K D/S 40/80T Switchblade £140.00 
CDX800/S Dual 400K 40/80 Switchblade £280.00 
1770 Upgrade £50.00 


ARCHIMEDES SOFTWARE 


Ansi C 

Iso Pascal 

Fortran 77 

Logistix. — 

Twin 

Usp 

Prolog X 

PC Emulator 

Kermit 

First Word Plus.. 


..£105.00 
..£105.00 
..£105.00 
..£105.00 
..-£30.00 
.£210.00 
..£210.00 
..£105.00 
£52.00 


...£85.00 


Flying Start II 

SpellMaster 

InterWord 

InterSheet 

InterChart 

Con Comp Podule 

as above + battery 

Zarch 

Conquerer 

Minotaur...... 


_£63.00 


—£50.00 

-£40.00 

...£40.00 

...£26.00 


-...£54.00 

.-..£65.00 

......£18.00 

— £ 22.00 


.£13.50 


PSION HAND HELD 


Psion Organiser II Mod CM £90.00 

Psion Organiser II Mod XP... 2125.00 

8K Datapack... £12.00 


FREE CARRIAGE ON ALL PSION ITEMS 


16K Datapack... 
32K Datapack... 


64K Datapack for XP..„. 
128K Datapack for XP- 

32K Rampack for XP 

Spreadsheet for XP- 


-£18.50 

-£32.00 

..£55.00 


Finance Pack 227.50 

Maths Pack .227.50 

Spelling Checker £27.50 

Comms Link-PC/XT Plug £55.00 

Mains Adaptor. - .... £12.00 


-£90.00 

-250.00 


Organiser Finger/Letter.., 

Diary Link 

Mini-Formatter.. 


...32.00 


..£12.00 


Comms Link Adpt to BBC... 


£38.00 Complete Guide Book... 
-£ 12.00 


-£32.00 


..£9.50 


AMSTRAD SYSTEMS 


PCW RANGE 
PCW8256 

39575 

PC 1640 RANGE 
MONO DISPLAY 
SD MD 


PCW8512 

£49450 

*• 5n 

PCW9512..- - 

.£540.50 

DDMD.. - 

£71100 

PPC RANGE 


HD MD 

f mm on 

PPC512S 

£448 50 

COLOUR DISPLAY 
SD CD 


PPC512D _ 

£598.00 

£7*10 ?5 

PPC640S 

2563.50 

DD CD 

£8fiR 25 

PPC640D. 

. £701.50 

HD CD. . 

£f 1QA 00 

PC1512 RANGE 
SD MM 

£448 50 

ECO COLOUR 
SD ECD 

£897 00 

DD MM - 

£603.75 

DD ECD- 

£1045 50 

SD CM ... .... 

.... . .£61525 

HD ECD 

£1157 00 

DD CM. 

£759.00 




Z88 LAPTOP SPECIAL £270.00 


FREE CARRIAGE ALL Z88 ITEMS 


128K RAM Park 

£49.00 

32K RAM Pack 

£19 00 

128K FPROM Park 

£49.00 

32K EPROM Pack 

-..£19.00 

EPROM Eraser 

.....£39.00 

PC Link II 

£34.00 

Parallel Cable - 

£29.00 

Serial Cable 

£9.00 

BBC Unk 

£24.00 

Modem... 

£170,00 

512K RAM Pack 

..£195.00 

SpellMaster 

£55.00 


PRINTER SPECIALS 


Panasonic 1081 — 
Panasonic 1082 — 
Printer Lead Arch. 


..£165.00 
..£200.00 
£12.00 


Star LC10 

Star LC10 Colour 

Printer Lead BBC 


.....£ 200.00 
-..£240.00 
£8.00 


ACORN BOOKS 

Forth Manual 

£10 00 

1 isp Manual 

£10.00 

BCPL Manual 

~£i5nn 

Iso Pascal Manual. 

_..£10.00 

Intro to Comal 

£10 00 

Intro to 1 ngn 

£10.00 

Logo Ref Manual 

£7.50 

6502 Dev System Manual 

View Sheet Guide...—— 

£7.50 

View Store Manual 

.£10.00 

£10.00 


Price® Indude VAT a! 15%. 

Instant Credit up to £1000 for callers only a! both shops. 
Oder by Phone or Letter 
Cheques to be made out to: 

P&H ELECTRONICS LTD. 

22/24 GUILDFORD ROAD 
BAGSHOT, SURREY GU19 5JN 
Carriaot Costs flnctucttfiQ BFPOl Per hsm 
Books, Software. Upgrades. Accessories - Carriage Free 
Disc Drives £6.00 Micros, Monitors, Printers 


UK/BFPO 
£6.00 


40 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 



















HINTS & IPS 

DUMPING IN MIDSTREAM 

Useful advice on how to achieve a screen dump while a program is running, 
to transfer files from DFS to ADFS, and to score accurately at Scrabble 


Many readers may know that the IBM PC 
has a very useful function available from 
the keyboard: by pressing a key called 
‘Print Screen’ or ‘PrtSc’ at any point within 
a program it sends a dump of the entire 
screen to the printer. The facility is for a 
text-only dump which is compatible with 
all printers. 

Program 1 listed in the yellow pages 
provides the same facility on a BBC micro. 
It assembles and saves a program called 
PrtSc which is *RUN before using your 
program. At any point during the use of 
your program, pressing CTRL-COPY will 
send a text dump to the printer, without 
affecting anything on screen or in the 
program. It is particularly useful for, say, 
dumping individual records in a database 
without going through a report generator, 
or perhaps dumping a mode 7 screen in a 
viewdata program. Note that any graphics 
on screen in mode 7 are converted to their 
text equivalents, and in any other mode 
they are converted to spaces. You could 
alter the program to deal with graphics, 
and even produce a complete graphic dump 
by altering or replacing the routine starting 
at the label ‘prinsc’. 

The program is completely legal and will 
work with spoolers and printer buffers. 
Any printer can be used with the normal 
*FX5 setting. The program also takes 
account of the ignore character, so your 
*FX6 setting should be made as usual. 

PrtSc works by the use of events, specifi- 
cally event 4, which, when enabled, occurs 
50 times every second. The installation 
routine at ‘instal’ sets the event vector to 
the address of your program - this idea 
was mentioned in the May ’88 issue. 

The first part of the program stores all 
the registers on the stack. Then it checks if 
the necessary keys are being pressed. (Two 
separate checks are made, one for COPY, 
then for CTRL.) If they are, then it 
disables the event. This is so that if CTRL- 
COPY is pressed again, the program 

ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


doesn’t try to attempt another dump with- 
in the first one. The next important action 
is to clear the interrupt flag, as they are 
disabled at the entry to an event routine. 
Interrupts must be enabled to allow the 
operating system to work, for example 
when printing characters. 

NINTL A»l) Tit'S AUGUST II bT t<Avld AlhaMOn 
lot) word* 

•• r«IHT SCRUM TUMCTIOM •• 

HA Ay raad.n My know (hat lb* IBM 1C haa • wiry uaatul tunctlon available 
Iron the aeybnardby prilling i kiy called 'trill Scrim' or oltin 
'title', it my point, within my progrm. i dump of thi intlri scrim Is 
•mt to thi prlntir Thl facility n tor • t. it -only duip. to provldi 
coapit 1 1> 1 1 1 1 v with ill printers. 

Thl • progrm provldn thi imo facility on a BBC Micro. TM progtm mild 
In Yillow Pag. • aiiaablii and aavu to disc I lachlna coda progrm callad 
'PrtSc which Is thin •BUM bafura uling ynur progrm. Thin, at any point 
during thi um of your progrm. priming CTRL P will und I tail duip to 
thi prlntir. without affictlng anything on acram, or In thi progrm It 
li particularly uiaful for. aay, duaplng Individual neorda In a databaia 
without going through a upon ganarator. or pirhaps duaplng a Modi I 
aersan In ■ viawdata progrm Not. that any graphics on icrian In Modi 7 
ara convarlad to thalr l.«t igulvalanli. and In any othir aoda. thay ara 
convirl.d to apacaa. you could altar tha prograa to daal with graphics, 
and indaid produce a coaplit* graphic, duap by altarlng or riplacing tha 


80 -column text dump using PrtSc 

Then the program calls the print-out 
routine. When this has finished, it re- 
enables the event so that the routine can be 
used again, and restores all registers from 
the stack and exits. 

The screen printing routine works by 
reading the mode number, and uses this to 
determine the size of the screen. Then it 
sends the cursor to each character location 
on the screen in turn, reads the character at 
the cursor, then sends it to the printer. 
Note that the program takes great care not 
to scroll the screen. When it reaches the 
last character on the bottom line of the 
screen, it doesn’t move the cursor on to the 
‘next’ character, as that would cause the 
screen to scroll up a line. 

The program is configured for 80- 
column printers, which do not need a 
carriage return to move on to the next line 
if exactly 80 characters are placed on a line. 
If you have a wide printer such as the 
Epson FX100 or Acorn User's own Sakata 
wide carriage printer, or if you are using 
condensed mode printing, then the variable 
‘printw’ in line 90 should be changed to the 
appropriate width in characters. 

The program should work correctly on 
the Electron, and on all 6502-based BBC 
micros. It resides at location &900 in 


memory, and so will be corrupted if you 
use the cassette system to read files in, or 
read data from the serial port. Owners of 
Masters and machines with sideways RAM 
might like to try to alter the program so 
that it can be run from sideways RAM. 


£5 


SCRABBLE 
SCORER MK II 

Richard Wain of Sheffield is a keen player 
of Scrabble, and was interested in Bernard 
Emblem’s Hints and Tips program that we 
carried some time ago, which performed 
Scrabble scoring. However, that program 
didn’t work out word scores, which is the 
part of Scrabble scoring Richard finds most 
tedious, so he set out to write his own 
version. 

The program starts by asking for up to 
four players’ names, which are used later to 
prompt for the scores. After this, you 
should play your first round of the game, 
so each player has one turn. Then enter the 
words for the first round. The letter mul- 
tiples are added after the relevant letter, 
while word multiples are added after the 
relevant word. 

All the letters of the actual word should 
be typed in using capital letters, and the 
special codes below should be entered with 
lower case. To calculate double and triple 
scores, the special system has to be used as 
follows: 

d = double word 
t = triple word 
1 = double letter 
h = triple letter 
b = blank or no word 
So, for example if the word ‘HELLO’ is 
used, and the word falls on a double word 
square, with the letter E sitting on a triple 
letter square, you would enter ‘HEhLLOd’ 
If you have made more than one word in 
your turn, then any other words should be 
added to the string as it is entered. For 

41 


VQLTMACE 





SPE C IAL PFFERrFE W -QNL Y M 1ISUBI5HLP1SC_D.RI YES 

Double Sided, Double Density, 80 Track, 

1/2 Height Mitsubishi Model M4853 with flap front In cream 
steel case complete with leads for BBC B, Master etc. 

£84.95 Inc. VAT and P&P 
Also available uncased £70.00 Inc. VAT and P&P 


COMPATIBLE 


DELTA 3B TWIN 


DISC DRIVE STARTER PACK 

1 40 Track double sided/double density 
400K 51 / 4 " Toshiba disc drive in a half 
height cream metal case. 

1 Watford Mark II DDFS disc interface kit. 
1 Watford DFS manual. 

£115.00 including VAT AND P&P 




COMPATIBLE 


FOR A BBC A, B, B + & MASTER 

DELTA 3B TWIN - £19.95 

2 joysticks wired to one plug. 

As with all our joysticks they have the fast action sprung to centre return of 
the steel shafted nylon covered joystick. The light action makes them ideal 
to hold and the 3 fire buttons allow left or right-handed use. 

DELTA 3B SINGLE £12.95 

A single joystick that in some ways can act as two. The custom made 
potentiometers are wired so that it will work as a left hand or right hand 
joystick. It can run some programs written for two joysticks and has two 
independant fire functions. 

DELTA 14B £14.95 

Our original ACORN/BBC handset. The same super light joystick, but with 
14 long life buttons, video game tested for many years. A DELTA14B/1 is 
needed to run the keypad but a 14B on it’s own will work as a joystick and 
fire buttons, so you can always add the 14B/1 to it later. 

DELTA14B/1 for use with 1 or 2 DELTA 14B*s £14.85 

DELTA DRIVER CASSETTE £5.95 

The A/D/USER PORT interface box. This gives simultaneous access to both 
the analogue port, for the joystick part and the user port, for the keypad. 

Two handsets can be plugged into the box giving a total of 24 user definable 
keys. 

N.B. On a Master a small extension lead is needed to clear the RGB socket 
(£5.95 extra). 

Full instructions are provided to include the keypad in your own programs 
even in BASIC or for the non-programmer a DELTA DRIVER cassette is 
available with keyboard to joystick/keypad conversions and keypad set up 
programs. 

FOR THE MASTER COMPACT OR ELECTRON FITTED WITH A 
SWITCHED JOYSTICK INTERFACE 

DELTA 3S £12.95 

For an ELECTRON with a switched joystick interface (not a PLUS 1) this 
gives you the same delightful light, fast action of the DELTA joysticks but 
fitted with a 9 way D plug as per Atari. Commodore, etc. and will run on 
First Byte interface or similar. 


Unit 9, Bondor Business Centre, London Road, Baldock, Herts. SG7 6NG. Telephone (0462) 894410 


FEW LEFT ONLY - LAST M QNTH QF OFFER 

CUMANA TOUCHPADS - The touch pad allows you to transfer 
sketches onto your screen by using a stylus on a touch sensitive pad 

Absolute bargain £14.95 Inc. VAT and P&P 

Unbranded Guaranteed Discs 
10 5.25" 40Tr Double sided £4.95 
10 5.25’ 80Tr Double sided £4.95 
10 3.5" 135TPI - DS/DD £10.95 

Disc-Drive head cleaner kits-Liquid type-non-abrasive 3.5" or 5.25" £3.95 


Available from your dealer 
or direct from us on 
(0462) 894410 


• DELTA 3S or 3SO 


NEW!!! DATAPRINT2P LOW COST- LOWPROFILE- PRINTER SHARER 

£34.95 

A neat small unit which allows two parallel printers to be connected to one 
computer and simply switched between the two. e.g. one printer for paper and 
one for labels. 

DATAPRINT 2C LOW COST- LOW PROFILE COMPUTER SHARER £34.95 

The opposite of the DATAPRINT 2P this little box just 125 x 90 x 20mm allows 
two computers to share one printer. 


» DATAPRINT 2P 


DATAPAD 16 B £39 - 95 

A commercial spec. 16 way keypad. Full travel mechanical keys with double 
shot moulded keycaps mounted in a low profile metal case. The keys are 
marked with calculator legend, but the software included allows the pad to be 
defined as any keys, including function keys or single byte VDU commands 
such as PRINTER ON/OFF. No tampering the computer as it fits onto the 
user port. 


• DATAPAD 16B 


42 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 






HINTS & UPS 


example, if the word GO was made at the 
same time as HELLO, you would enter 
HEhLLOdGO or, HEhLLOGOd if GO 
was also on the double score. 

The computer calculates your score from 
a standard Scrabble table of values, and 
modifies it according to the double and 
triple scores noted. Each player’s score is 
taken for the round and added to a running 
total. The program then asks if the game is 
finished, and if not, proceeds to take the 
score again. When the game is over the 
program asks whether you have any letters 
left. If you have, type a string containing 
all the letters, eg, QRUU or whatever. 

The best way to use the Scrabble scorer 
is during an actual game. Of course careful 
attention will need to be paid to the seating 
arrangements, so that keyboard, screen and 
players can all be accommodated. 


£5 


8-PIN DUMPS 
FROM 24-PIN PRINTERS 

Martin Hesketh from Ryton, Tyne and 
Wear, has an NEC P2200 pin writer, the 
low-cost 24-pin dot-matrix printer. 
Although very pleased with the quality of 
print available, Martin found that when 
using screen dumps designed for 8-pin 
graphics (9-pin printers don’t use one of 
the pins when printing in graphics mode), 
the result was only just satisfactory, with 
quality worse than many 8-pin printers. 
This was because the printer only used 
every third pin when printing 8-pin 
graphics, leaving small but noticeable lines 
between each line of dots. 

When Martin typed in the three 24-pin 
dumps in April and May’s Aconi Users , the 
quality was much better. But the programs 
didn’t give as much versatility as, for 
example, special printer ROMs such as 
Watford’s Dumpout 3. So Martin wrote the 
program presented here - a converter 
which actually takes 8-pin graphics data 
and converts it to the 24-pin equivalent, 
using the original 24-pin graphics modes of 
the printer rather than the poorer 8-pin 
emulation provided by the printer manu- 
facturers. 

Martin’s program uses the buffer insert 
vector (INSV) to check for 8-pin graphics. 
It an 8-pin graphics code is given, the 
program converts it to the nearest 24-pin 
equivalent, then converts the graphic data 
that follows. Now instead of printing with 
every third pin, each bit controls three of 
the 24 pins on the printer. 




8-pin graphics (top) converted to 24-pin 


The illustration above shows a screen 
picture from the Master’s Welcome Disc. 
The top dump is without the converter. 
The lower one uses the converter and is 
much darker and sharper. The immediate 
reaction is that one was printed with a faint 
ribbon, but in fact the two dumps were 
done one after the other, with the same 
screen dump software. 

The program is supplied in the form of 
assembler source which automatically in- 
stalls itself when you CHAIN it. The 
correct insert vector value is calculated at 
the start of the program as this varies on 
different machines. CHAIN the program 
before starting up your graphics software. 


DFSTOADFS 

FILE TRANSFER 

Following on from last month’s item about 
40-track and 80-track DFS discs, we turn 
this month to ADFS. Undoubtedly this is 
better than DFS in the long run, once you 
get used to it, but can cause a few 
headaches at first. Virtually all commercial 


software is supplied in DFS format, and to 
maintain compatibility with DFS users, 
you often find that you can’t avoid trans- 
ferring files between the two systems. 

Copying the files is fairly straightfor- 
ward. Master owners have a utility on the 
Welcome disc called COPYFILES and also 
a command, :: *MOVE, built into the oper- 
ating system. The best method to use is to 
place the DFS disc in drive 0 and the 
ADFS disc in drive 1, and set COPYFILES 
up accordingly, specifying the S directory 
for each. When asked for a source list 
specification, type a star ("') meaning ‘all 
files’. This will copy all the files in the S 
directory on the DFS disc to the $ direc- 
tory on the ADFS disc, and normally this 
is good enough. By specifying a sub- 
directory on the ADFS disc (which you 
must have already created with CDIR) you 
can choose to place the files elsewhere on 
the ADFS disc. 

A shortcoming of COPYFILES is that it 
only allows you to copy one DFS direc- 
tory at a time. If you have several files, but 
only one in each directory, you might as 
well use the "'MOVE command, which is 
easier to use because it is built in to the 
Master’s Megabit ROM. But "‘MOVE has 
the disadvantage that it cannot accept ‘wild 
cards’ - that is, it cannot transfer more 
than one file at once. 

For example, if you have a DFS disc 
with files !BOOT, Program, T.Data and 
F.Data, and you wish to transfer them all 
to an ADFS disc, you can place the format- 
ted ADFS disc in drive I, and first of all 
create the two necessary subdirectories: 
*DIR :1.$ 

"‘CDIR T 
"CDIR F 

"'DIR also has the effect of ‘mounting’ the 
disc. Then each file can be transferred 
using :: ’MOVE without repeatedly chang- 
ing directories. The sequence is shown in 
table 1 on the next page. 

It is possible to omit any part of the 
syntax which is a current setting, for exam- 
ple if you were in DFS mode when starting 
to use the :: ‘MOVE command the -DISC- 
part could be omitted. To be on the safe 
side, it is best to use the full syntax at all 
times. Note how the filename must be 
specified for the ADFS part. "'MOVE, 
unlike some other utilities, does not work 
with omitted filenames by assuming them 
to be the same. 

Having transferred the files, some furth- 
er alterations need to be made to the ADFS 
disc. First, the !BOOT option was prob- 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


43 



HINTS & TIPS 


TABLE 1. TRANSFERRING USING 'MOVE 

:: MOVE -DISC-:0.$.!BOOT 

-ADFS-:l.$.!BOOT 

••MOVE -DISC- :0.$. Program 

-ADFS-l.S. Program 

'MOVE -DISC-:0.T.Data 

-ADFS-I.S.T.E>ata 

-MOVE -DISC-:0.F.Data 

-ADFS-l.S.F.Data 



TABLE 2. SETTING FILES AS LOCKED 

* ADFS (This remounts Drive 1 
for safety 
•OPT 4,3 

'•ACCESS * LWR 
••ACCESS T. ;; * LWR 
^ACCESS F. :; ‘ LWR 

ably set on the DPS disc, so this needs to 
be set in the new disc too. More subtly, the 
‘L’ setting listed after a filename in a DPS 
catalogue means it is readable, writeable, 
but locked. In ADPS, you have to say 
explicitly that the file is readable and 
writeable, by using "‘ACCESS. The opera- 
tions to set all the files as readable, write- 
able but locked are shown in table 2. Note 
that separate " ACCESS commands are re- 
quired for each subdirectory. 

Setting up the ADFS disc in this way 
will help to improve DFS compatibility. 
The example file ‘Program’ would prob- 
ably access one of the other files, using a 
command such as X=0PEN1N “F.Data” 
or something similar. Although you cannot 
see the F.Data file when you catalogue the 
ADFS disc (while in the S directory), this 
command would still find the file. 

Beware of DFS filenames which use 
characters such as £, S, @, * and full stops 
other than immediately after a single char- 
acter directory name, for example, 
FILE.TX or £.£££££££. Though these 
characters are against the programming 
rules, they nevertheless work in DFS. But 
they won’t work in ADFS and will have to 
be changed. COPYFILES performs the 
changes automatically but of course you 
may have to change any programs which 
refer to these files by their original names. 

If you have only a single drive, or if you 
aren’t using the Master, then you won’t be 
able to use COPYFILES or the "MOVE 
command. Unless you have another utility 
program, the simplest way to transfer files 
is through ordinary "LOAD and "SAVE. 
This will, however, restrict you to copying 
files which will fit in memory, which lor 
model B users is about 24k. So files must 
be &6000 bytes or less in length. In a 
model B with ADFS, the normal setting of 



Twin drives make transfer easier 


PAGE is & 1 COO. You can find what it is 
on your machine using PRINT PAGE. 

First type "DISC followed by "OPT 1,2 
- this will display file lengths. Now load 
the first file like this, using the address of 
PAGE in hexadecimal. 

-LOAD !BOOT 1C00 

The file details are displayed on screen, 
with three long numbers after the filename. 
From the left these are the load address, 
execution address and length. Remove the 
DFS disc, and replace it with the ADFS 
disc. Type "‘ADFS followed by "‘MOUNT 
0 to mount the disc, and the file as follows: 

-SAVE 1BOOT 1C00 +11 FFFFFFFF 
00000000 

The order of the four numbers is the value 
of PAGE, plus the length of the file, then 
the execution and load addresses. Note that 
when you see six Fs after loading you 
should use eight Fs when saving. This is 
because ADFS stores file addresses to grea- 
ter precision than DFS. Now replace the 
DFS disc and repeat for each file. 

You can repeatedly catalogue the DFS 
disc, or you might like to make a list of all 
the files first. The procedures for setting up 
subdirectories (before the copying) and the 
-OPT 4,3 and "ACCESS (after the 
copying) remain the same. The example 
‘T.Data’ file would be copied in the normal 
way with -LOAD T. Data and "SAVE T. 
Data. 

By following the methods above, you 
should be able to transfer the majority of 
unprotected software across to ADFS. For 
simplicity, we have assumed that there are 
no 40/80-track complications, but even if 
there are, judicious switching of the drive 


at the appropriate point should make 
everything work. Note that protected DFS 
discs will not normally transfer to ADFS - 
for these your only recourse, short of a lot 
of hacking, is to ask the publisher if an 
ADFS version is available. 


£10 ' 


MATHEMATICAL 

DIVERSIONS 

Another program from Martin Hesketh 
shows how the humble BBC micro is both 
fast and capacious when it comes to per- 
forming mathematics. For this Martin has 
ignored the arithmetic facilities provided 
by Basic, and resorted to direct machine 
code programming, providing his own 
multi-precision integer routines. 

The program runs through that mathe- 
matical series popular with computer scien- 
tists, the powers of 2. The demonstration is 
staggeringly impressive, showing the size 
of numbers the computer can handle when 
freed from the rather limiting four-byte 
integer system provided by Basic. Normal- 
ly, the computer will give a ‘Too big’ error 
message at any number of more than about 
37 digits (floating point) or 10 digits (in- 
teger). 

This program calculates successive pow- 
ers of 2, and can continue until the number 
of digits in the result exceeds the memory 
limit set, in this case about 24,500! 

When you run the program, you will at 
first be greeted by a blank display. To 
increase processing speed, the output to 
screen is only enabled when you press the 
space bar. Try pressing the space bar after 
about 10 seconds - already the program 
will be past 2 to the power of 1000 - a 
number far exceeding the number of atoms 
in the universe. But switching on the 
display will slow calculations down con- 
siderably. Of course, as the program prog- 
resses into the realms of higher powers, the 
time taken to calculate each power in- 
creases. 

As an experiment, Martin left his maths 
program running overnight, and by the 
next morning, he found that it had reached 
277243. The 23,253-digit number took up 
four and a half sheets of printer paper! 
Your Hints and Tips for BBC micros and 
Electrons are always welcome. Send them 
to David Atherton at Acorn User, 20-26 
Brunswick Place , London N1 6DJ. Please 
wherever possible include a disc ( which will 
be returned) containing both the program 
and text of your submission. 


44 


ACORN USLiR AUGUST 1988 





PRINTER COMPATIBILITY TABLE 

Codes 

Effects 


Epson 


Citizen 

NEC 

Panasonic 

Toshiba 



FX80 

LQ800 

GQ3500 

HQP-40 

P2200 

KX-P1540 

P321SL 





(LQ mode) 




(IBM mode) 

8 

Backspace 

■ 

■ 

B 

fl 

fl 

B 

B 

12 

Form feed (new page) 

■ 

■ 

B 

B 

a 

B 

B 

13 

Carriage Return 

■ 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

B 

B 

14 

Double width (temp) 

■ 

■ 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

B 

15 

Condensed 

■ 

■ 


B 

B 

B 

B 

18 

Cancel condensed 

■ 

■ 


fl 

B 

B 

B 

20 

Cancel double width 

■ 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

B 

B 

27,33,n 

Program pitch/cffect 

■ 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

B 


27,38 

Define downloadable characters 

■ 

■ 

fl 

B 

B 

B 

fl 

27,45,1 

Underline 

■ 

■ 

B 

□ 

B 

B 

B 

27,45,0 

Cancel underline 

■ 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

m 

B 

27,48 

Vfe-inch line spacing 

■ 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

B 

B 

27,49 

7 /72-inch line spacing 

■ 



IS 



■ (Wo) 

B 

27,50 

Vi-inch line spacing 

■ 

■ 

B 

a 

B 

B 

27,51,n 

n/2 16-inch spacing"' 

■ (216) 

■ (180) 

■ (180) 

■ (180) 

■ (180) 

■ (180) 


27,52 

Italics 

a 

H 

B 

B 

a 

a 

27,18 

27,53 

Cancel italics 

■ 

■ 

B 

a 

m 

B 

27,20 

27,64 

Reset printer 

■ 

■ 

B 

m 

B 

fl 

B 

27,69 

Emphasised (bold) 

■ 

■ 

fl 

B 

B 

a 

B 

27,70 

Cancel emphasised 

■ 

■ 

B 

B 

a 

a 

B 

27,71 

Double-strike (bold) 

■ 

■ 

B 

a 

B 

b 

B 

27,72 

Cancel double-strike 

■ 

a 

B 

B 

B 

a 

B 

27,74,n 

Fractional line feed 

■ (216) 

■ (180) 

■ (180) 

■ (180) 

■ (180) 

■ (180) 

■ (216) 

27,77 

Elite font 

■ 

B 

B 

ESI 

B 

B 


27,80 

Pica font 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

B 

B 


27,82,3 

English character set 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

a 

B 


27,82,0 

US character set 

■ 

fl 

B 

B 

B 

B 


27,83,0 

Superscript 

■ 

B 

B 

fl 

B 

B 

B 

27,84 

Cancel superscript 

■ 

B 

B 

fl 

B 

B 

B 

27,83,1 

Subscript 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

fl 

fl 

B 

27,84 

Cancel subscript 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

B 

B 

B 

27,87,1 

Double width (perm) 

■ 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

B 

B 

27,87,0 

Cancel double width 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

B 

B 

B 

27,106,n 

Fractional reverse feed 

■ (216) 



■ (180) 

■ (180) 

■ (/1 80) 

B 

27,112,1 

Proportional spacing 

■ 

B 

fl 

B 

fl 

B 

27,80,0 

27,112,0 

Cancel proportional spacing 

■ 

B 

B 

B 

fl 

B 

27,80,1 

27,119,1 

Double height 







27,118,1 

27,119,0 

Cancel double height 







27,118,0 

27,120,1 

NLQ 


B 


B 

B 

B 


27,120,0 

Cancel NLQ 


B 


B 

m 

B 


27,65,n 

n/72-inch line spacing 

■(72) 

■ (60) 

■ (60) 

"(60) 

“(60) 

fl 

"(60) 

B 


27,75 

Normal density graphics 

■ 

B 


B 

B 

27,76 

Dual density graphics 

■ 

B 


m 

fl 

fl 

a 

27,89 

Double density graphics 

■ 

B 


B 

B 

m 

B 

27,90 

Quad density graphics 

■ 

B 


B 

B 

m 

a 

27,42,5 

Proportional graphics 

■ 







27, 42,32-40 

24-pin graphics 


B 


B 

El 

m 


* Line feed commands show units in brackets 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


45 


OFFERS 

TELETEXT RECEIVER 


We are so impressed by the exceptional 
quality of the new BBC teletext adapter 
that we have negotiated a special low- 
price introductory offer exclusive to Acorn 
User readers. 

All orders received by July 31 1988 will 
be supplied at £134 including VAT and 
delivery (normal retail price £149). The 
BBC teletext adapter is available at this 
special price only .through Acorn User. 

The Advanced Teletext Receiver from 
General Information Systems was 
developed with the co-operation of the 
BBC. It is the next generation of teletext 
receivers for the BBC microcomputer 
series and is the only BBC-approved 
teletext adapter design. 

The adapter incorporates many of the 
advances made possible by recent 
developments in teletext chip technology 
all packed into a ruggedly built, compact 
box, which can be either wall-mounted or 
left free-standing. 

Other key features include: 

■ Complete access to Ceefax, Oracle and 
free downloadable software. 

■ Connection to the user port of the BBC 
models B, B+ and the Master 128. 

■ Powered by the micro’s 5v output. 

■ The only receiver with ATS Plus ROM 
and on-board dedicated microprocessor 
for superior performance. The ROM is 
supplied with a function key strip and 
excellent user guide. 

■ The software supplied with the receiver 
is guaranteed to operate with BBC 
transmissions. 

■ Tuning of the receiver is achieved 


Please send me 

Advanced Teletext Receiver(s) at £134.00 inclusive of VAT and delivery. 

NB: educational discounts are available - contact Seran at Acorn User. 

I enclose a cheque/postal order for £ made payable to GIS (Reader Account). 



The most advanced teletext 
receiver available 


.rfHHjjjjHiH*- 1 COMPUTING 

# 

TELESOFTWARE 1 

# 

G3D3 El 



TELE 

SOFTWARE 



NEXT 

Micro-magazine 


.701 


Reviews 


.702 

DATA 

Forthcoming event*., 


.703 

REPORT 

Education special 




- software reviews 


.704 

*CAT 

Program* available now. 

.710 

*INFO 

Program information 


.711 

LIST 

Programs next week. 


.712 

TELESOFTWARE The proarMB. 


.720 




to 

731 


Z.A 


Please charge my Access/American Express £ . 
Official order number 

ACCOUNT NUMBER 

ttti rnrr 



rm rrrr 


EXPIRY DATE 

i i in 


NAME 


ADDRESS 


POSTCODE 


SIGNED 


. DATE . 


Please send this coupon with your remittance to Teletext Offer, Acorn User Merchandising, 
20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ. 


using simple star commands. 

■ If you are using teletext for a period of 
time the terminal has the ability to keep 
pages for you, updating them when new 
data becomes available. 

■ Designed for the future: the receiver 
offers upwards compatibility to full page 
teletext and picture quality teletext. 

The BBC is committed to developing its 
telesoftware and has already made a large 
amount of public domain software 
available to its users. 

You can also use the receiver's ATS 
Plus ROM commands in your own 
programs to extract data from the teletext 
pages to build a personal database of 
information. So you could keep track of 
the fortunes of your favourite football 
team, for example, or automatically check 
up on the state of your share portfolio - 
you could even build a system that 
monitored the market, and then warned 
you of changes. 

We are pleased to accept official 
educational orders, and educational 
discounts are available for orders of 10 
or more: for more information telephone 
01-490 1444 Ext 297. 


46 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 







A CLOSER LOOK 

The BBC-approved GIS Teletext Receiver 
is bristling with features 



The BBC has joined forces with General 
Information Systems, creators of the Red 
Box home security system, to launch the 
BBC Advanced Teletext Receiver. 

The adapter gives you access to the 
information on Ceefax and Oracle and lets 
you download free telesoftware. 

A single metre-long thick lead connects 
to the user port on the BBC micro or 
Master 128. Master Compact owners with 
an add-on user port will now be able to 
add teletext for the first time. 

The adapter takes its power from the 
micro’s 5v output. In addition, you are 
supplied with an ATS Plus ROM to install 
in one of the sideways ROM sockets or a 
ROM cartridge or expansion board. This 
is a new version of the Advanced Teletext 
System ROM released by the BBC two 
years ago. 

Tuning is achieved by typing in 
*TELETEXT and then pressing Shift-fO. 

The screen displays a station tuning page, 
and gives simple instructions for tuning. 
First you have to press ‘S’ to start 
scanning through the channel 
wavelengths, and when a signal is located 
the scan is halted. This allows you to 
either save the station by pressing K, or S 
to continue scanning. A strong signal is 
indicated by the status report showing 
‘On-tune’ and a good steady screen 
display. In some areas channels are 
transmitted on several wavelengths, and 
so you should scan through the entire 
selection before choosing one. 

Individual teletext pages are called by 
simply pressing their unique three-figure 
number. The software also allows you to 
make use of the linked-pages system. At 
the bottom of the screen there are usually 
a series of coloured boxes followed by 
either page numbers or coloured 
keywords. These correspond to the four 
coloured blocks on the keystrip (fl to f4). 
This linked-pages system certainly makes 
selecting any desired page much easier. 

The ‘kept page’ feature is a really 
useful asset. If you are using teletext for 
long periods of time the terminal has the 
ability to keep pages for you, updating 

ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


them when it can. This means that when 
you re-select them they appear 
immediately, without having to wait for 
them to come round. 

Probably the best feature of the ATS 
Plus ROM is the way the telesoftware is 
handled. The Ceefax service has several 
pages dedicated to computer software. 
These are updated weekly. By pressing f5 
a complete list of all the telesoftware 
available for the week is displayed. From 
this catalogue programs and files can be 
downloaded and saved to disc with 
tremendous ease. There is none of the 
confusion that the original TFS caused 
when in the telesoft mode, with its black 
screen and Searching message. 

Since its release, the ATS ROM has 
been well supported by the BBC. For 
instance, the BBC has broadcast a 
program which allows a whole week’s 
telesoftware to be downloaded off-air 
automatically. Other packages include 
programs that can collect the major news 
stories and then print them out in 
newspaper format. These programs will 
all work with the ATS Plus ROM too. 

In addition BBC Schools Broadcasting has 
started to use the telesoftware service for 
sending out details of its broadcasts. 


The most exciting development is the 
use of ATS ROM commands so that your 
own programs can extract data from 
teletext pages. One example of this is a 
program that allows your computer to 
look at the weather pages on Ceefax every 
day, take the data and plot graphs. This 
allows a database of weather information 
from all parts of the country to be built 
up. In the same way, checks can be made 
on how your favourite football team is 
doing. Financial information on Ceefax 
also allows an automatic check on the 
state of your share portfolio — and you 
could even build a system that monitored 
the market, then warned you of changes. 

The ROM comes with a function key 
strip and an excellent user guide. 

There is no doubt the new Advanced 
Teletext Receiver is an impressive 
performer. One reason for the BBC’s 
adoption of the GIS adapter is that the 
BBC regards its Ceefax service, and 
especially the telesoftware service, as an 
important part of an integrated system. 

Perhaps the most important aspect of 
the adapter is that it is BBC endorsed, 
and so everything that is broadcast will 
work. If you want access to Ceefax and 
Oracle this is a great way to receive it. 


47 


ARC AGORA 


MODULE MANIPULATION 

In this month’s Agora: how to handle the Arc’s relocatable modules, 
and a sample module for compacting screen images 


Most of the software built into the 
Archimedes comes in the form of ‘relocat- 
able modules’ - that is, pieces of Arm code 
that behave in a very similar way to the 
sideways ROM of the BBC and Master 
computers. 

The main difference between an Arc 
module and a Beeb ROM is that whereas 
all Beeb chips are loaded at ‘apparently’ the 
same address and live side-by-side, Arc 
modules are relocatable - they may be 
loaded wherever there is a suitably large 
space for them, and they can all be active at 
the same time. 

Several helpful ^commands are built in. 
To list all currently active modules, type 
"MODULES. "RMLOAD simply loads a 
module into the RMA (Relocatable Mod- 
ule Area) - an area of memory set aside for 
modules. You may configure the RMA size 
using "CONFIGURE RMASIZE although 
the value you specify is not taken as an 
absolute maximum, merely as a sort of 
‘contingency memory fund’. If you load a 
module which requires more space, the 
RMA will usually be enlarged accordingly. 

"RMRUN loads and ‘starts up’ a module 
if it is an application rather than just a 
‘service’ module. "RMKILL removes a 
module from the RMA space and "UN- 
PLUG is harsher still - killing the module 
and setting a bit in the battery-backed 
RAM so that the module will not even 
return after switching off and on. 
"RMREINIT will reinstate a module and 
will also reset the ‘unplug’ bit if necessary. 
Note that "UNPLUG, when typed with 
no parameter, lists all unplugged modules. 

As Richard Charles from Ulster found, 
you can safely "UNPLUG all but the first 
four modules, releasing about 280k extra to 
use with the PC Emulator. If you want to 
unplug modules, but also wish to preserve 
your current configuration, then why not 
save it with P J Dellar’s utility from last 
month’s Agora? Our main program this 
month - listing 1 on the yellow pages - is a 


sample module called ‘ScreenUtils’. It con- 
tains two invaluable routines to compact 
and expand screen images. Since Arc 
screens are up to 160k in size, there’s a 
considerable need to compact them in 
some way. 

Because module code must be relocat- 
able, OPT values of 4 and above must be 
used so that the code is placed at 0% but 



Figure 1. Files displayed with Ftttree 

is assembled to run at P%. Initially, we set 
0% to code% and P% to 0, so our 
module is assembled to run at address 0 
which means that any internal references 
will work out correctly. The first seven 
memory words of a module are standard to 
all modules. 

&00 contains a pointer to the ‘start code’ 
- the address to call if the module is 
selected as the current application. 
ScreenUtils is a service module so this 
word contains zero. &04 points to the 
‘initialisation code’, which is called by 
-RMRUN, -RMLOAD, -RMREINIT 
and "RMTIDY. The code for ScreenUtils 
starts at ‘.init’ and simply claims one page 
of workspace by invoking SWI “OS_ 
Module” with R0=6. R3 contains the 
amount of space required and the address 
of the space allocated is returned in R2. 
This value is stored in the ‘private word’ 
contained in R12. Thereafter, any calls to 
ScreenUtils will be made with R12 point- 
ing to its private page of memory. &08 
contains the address of the ‘finalisation 


code’ - called by "‘RMKILL and "UN- 
PLUG. ScreenUtils has no finalisation 
code, but this could be used to prevent its 
removal from the RMA. &0C contains the 
address of the ‘service call handler’. 

Service calls are passed to modules in 
much the same way as they are passed to 
BBC ROMs. Unknown "’commands and 
requests for help are dealt with separately 
under the module system though, so 
ScreenUtils requires no service call hand- 
ling. &10 contains the address of the mod- 
ule’s title string, as displayed in "MOD- 
ULES for example. The string must be 
zero-terminated and must be followed by 
ALIGN to ensure subsequent instructions 
start on word boundaries. ScreenUtils uses 
the macro FNequz to include a zero- 
terminated string. Note that the FN need 
not be preceded by an OPT in Basic V : the 
value returned by FNequz is simply 
thrown away. 0&14 contains a pointer to 
the module help string. This is also zero- 
terminated and contains a tab character 
(ASCII 9) so that the name lines up neatly 
with those of the other modules. &18 is the 
last essential header word and contains a 
pointer to a table of all the "commands. 

If our module contained its own SWI 
calls, the next four words would also 
contain special information, but if these 
words do not contain sensible values they 
arc ignored by the operating system. 

The command table consists of a list of 
"‘commands, terminated by a zero byte. 
The macro FNcom is used to assemble 
each command and takes as parameters: 

■ the command name 

■ a pointer to the command’s code 

■ some flags 

■ a pointer to a ‘syntax’ string 

■ a pointer to a ‘help’ string 

The flags contain information about the 
minimum and maximum permissible num- 
ber of parameters and if these limits are 
breached, the syntax string is used as an 
error message. 


48 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 





not try J F Button’s program - listing 3 on 
the yellow pages? It also illustrates many 
useful features of BBC Basic V. 

The program requests a directory name 
and then FNtree is invoked to display the 
files found (figure 1). It works with ADFS, 
ANFS and any other filing system. 

To draw the tree, several characters are 
defined in PROCinit. Note that if ‘Coun- 
try’ is configured to Compact then these 
characters will already have been defined. 
A check is also made to see if the program 
is being run in mode 7 and, if so, alterna- 
tive characters are used to draw the tree. 
The keyword MODE when used as a 
variable returns the current screen mode. 

The filenames are read conveniently us- 
ing OS.Gbpb and the file lengths are 
extracted using OS.Files. Mr Button makes 
extensive use of the IF . . .ELSE . . .EN- 
DIF structure to keep his program neat 
and employs WHILE . . .ENDWHILE 
when indenting filenames. This is very 
useful when you want a loop to repeat 
exactly zero times. 


ARE YOU FILLING 
ALRIGHT? 

Because the Archimedes is well behaved in 
the way it handles events and interrupts, 
it’s possible to do all sorts of things 
‘behind the computer’s backplane’. Listing 
4 on the yellow pages comes from Acorn 
User regular Dave Lawrence and illustrates 
one possibility. 

A diagonal maze is drawn on the screen 
using two characters defined at the start of 
the program. This maze is then flood- 
filled. However, the event vector (number 
&10) is intercepted using the SWI call 
OS.Claim and the routine .gcol is added to 
the chain of event-handling routines. 

The vertical sync event is enabled with 
*FX 14,4 prior to the flood fill (and 
disabled afterwards with *FX 13,4), so 
‘.gcol’ is called 50 times a second while the 
maze is being filled. The short piece of 
code selects each colour from 0 to 63 in 
turn by performing the equivalent of VDU 
18,0, colour with three SWIs. OS.Claim 
takes three parameters - a vector number, 
the address of the new code to add to the 
chain and a value to be passed in register 
R12. In the example, this last value sets 
how frequently the plotting colour is 
changed (in fiftieth of a second uni ts). 

All submissions should be sent to Arc 
Agora , Acorn User, Redwood Publishing , 
20-26 Brunswick Place , London N1 6DJ. 

49 


Figure 2. Above, Zarch screen and demonstration 
image have been compacted 

Space does not permit a full description 
of how the screen compaction works, but 
here’s a brief outline. The screen mode and 
palette information are written to the file. 
The screen is scanned 16 times and each 
time recurring bytes are looked for. The 
file is made up of pairs of values - the byte 
from the screen and the number of times it 
occurs in succession. This process is often 
called ‘run-length encoding’. 

The best scan is found and is used to 
compact the screen. Each scan uses a 
different number of bits to store the count. 
A screen with large colour blocks is best 
compacted using a lot of bits to store each 
count, whereas a more detailed screen will 
be most efficiently stored using fewer bits. 

The process of saving the screen takes a 
few seconds and is proportional to the size 
of the screen. The size and memory 
address of the start of the screen memory 
are read ‘legally’ using the SWIs 
‘OS.ReadVduVariables’ and ‘OS.Read. 
Mode Variable’. 

Listing 1 saves the assembled code as 
ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


Figure 3. Colour-filled maze 

ScrUtils and sets the file type or &FFA. 
Listing 2 is a short demonstration of 
ScreenUtils. The module to ‘module’ is 
loaded, a colourful pattern is drawn and 
some text is displayed in the middle. Then 
the screen is saved in full using "SCREEN- 
SAVE and compacted using "SAVEPIC. 
The compacted screen is reloaded and the 
percentage reduction in size is calculated 
using SWI ‘OS.File’ to read the lengths of 
both the compacted and uncompacted ver- 
sions of the pictures. 

"SAVEPIC can be used in any screen 
mode and "LOADPIC changes the mode 
accordingly. A typical Zarch screen com- 
pacts to about 10 per cent, which saves 
about 70k of valuable disc space! 


A SHORT 
UTILITREE 

The Arc’s "'COUNT command can be 
used to display the files on a disc, but for a 
more graphical and readable version why 





rchimedes 

HARNESS THE POWER 


£ 49.95 


The ARCHIMEDES toolkit was the first toolkit for the 
Archimedes, it is still available for £39.95 but we have 
improved on the original with TOOLKIT PLUS. All of the 
previous favourites are there: 

~ 10 Fast memory and disc editors 

* 8 Fast memory and disc searches 

* Fast scrolling disassembler 

* Memory shift, swap and compare 



AGET & aput disc sectors 

* FASTLOAD & fastsave of screens 

* A series of commands to list all SWis, give SWl numbers for 
names and names for numbers. 


§0 


A host of commands to search a disc for filenames including 
wildcards, specified f iletypes, files between specific dates or 
a combination of these parameters, For instance you could 
search a disc for all BASIC files starting with DEMO and saved 
between 1/1/83 and 2/2/88. 


§0 


ARCHIVING so that you can backup files matching the 
specified criteria above. You can then archive the files on 
your hard disc to floppies for safety. 

You need toolkit + so order today. 

BUFFER MODULE £19.95 

Also from Mike Shaw, the author of Toolkit + , comes a buffer 
module. This has buffers for the printer, serial input and 
serial output, Each buffer can be configured form 256 bytes 
upto 1 megabyte. Whilst data is being printed you can carry 
on working on your computer. 

You can get control back from your printer in a fraction of 
the normal time. Printouts that take a printer 4 or 5 hours 
to print can be put in the buffer in minutes and you can then 
carry on working on your computer. If yo want to save time 
get this module now. 

Compatible with 305, 310, 410 and 440. 



98 Middlewich Rd 
Northwich 
Cheshire CW9 7DA 
Tel: 0606 48511 

ALL PRICES INCLUDE 
VAT and P+P 
OVERSEAS ORDERS 
ADD £4 


DON'T FORGET, YOU CAN ORDER WITH ACCESS CARD TOO! 



£ 39.95 


artisan is not just an art package it is the 
art package for the Archimedes, we are 
not going to bore you with lists of 
features, just take a look at the picture to 
see how good it is. Just to prove that we 
aren’ t the only ones who think its good 
take a look at what the magazines think: 


friendlv life ha J'c «> be seen ^ N ,! S '"agio 


faM Speed - »« lightning 

acoffv ,,e„„ _ . 

superior 


ACORN USER February 
’rnaUeT^^ 


<$&... 


ifWaincd 

I features. . many I 

Package now °" bu >’ <5 

1987 USER »ove mbc 


/VRTlSAkN 


recommend ^ january ^ ig 87 ; 

^ esc rving of special mention is a facility called 
1988 Magic Brush... a true cut and paste... 

~ 'ARTISAN' wins hands down 


ARCHIVE February 1988 


f ARTISAN* represen^TTxceUciTTalue lor money 

sunerblv designed pop up menus... very friendly., 
foolproof and quick to use' . . incredibly easy to use \ 

have been 

A&B December 1987 & Jan uary 1988 

ARTISAN SUPPORT DISC £19.95 

Enhance the power of artisan with this support disc 
containing many useful new utilities plus additional screens 
and fonts. Features include: 

* display module to create your own slide show' with 8 
standard or user defined fades. The fades are used to merge 
one picture into another just like TV. You control the speed 
of the merge and you can even design your own fades with 
the supplied definer. 

* intecrex colour dumps-one standard and one high quality 

* EPSON EX800 colour dump 

* EPSON MONO dump 

* pattern editor for mono dumps 

* additional fonts & screens 

All the utilities work with any Mode 12 screen and so you are 
not limited to artisan screens. 






Dave's been 

down-under! 


Unfortunately, they sent him back. His father did all he 
could, but to no avail. Apparently David was beating 
the Aussies at "Hopper - (as well as cricket) and they 
didn't like it. Anyway, he's back, so if you come to see 
our full range of BBC software and hardware, disc 
drives, printers, monitors, cables etc, and you hear an 
Australian accent, it will only be David showing off. 
Actually, he sounds better than he used tol 


NUMBER ONE IN BROMLEY 

flore 

6 Chatterton Road, Bromley, Kent. Tel.: 01-460 8991 



ADE-F is a 65C00 series assembler system supporting all the mnemonics of the 
65C12 plus the additional ‘Rockweir instructions ADE+ is fast, faster in fact 
than the irvbuilt BASIC assembler and all rival products that we have tested. 
The assembler produces absolute code that can be 4 RUN or linker modules 
that can be merged with the output from other programs using the ADE-F 
linker. ADE+ supports a powerful linker which drastically cuts assembly time; 
a feature normally only found on minis and mainframes Full library support for 
both the linker and the assembler is provided - fast searching for unknown 
instructions in a random access macro library. A print spooling system uses 
sideways RAM as a print buffer to eliminate waiting time; your listing runs off a 
background job! Use the print spooler from BASIC or your own programs 
ADE+ uses ALL available memory. With a second processor attached the 10 
processor spare memory is used as a buffer to reduce the amount of disc 
access All available memory is handled by ADE-F's intelligent memory 
management module Use your own favourite editor or the one provided 
Assemble from disc or memory. Full utilities include librarians converter for 
BBC BASIC etc. 


Features 

- Runs on BBC B.B-F, Master. Compact. 
ADFS, DFS, ANFS, NFS 

• Full use of all available memory 

- Intelligent memory management unit 

- Automatic search for macros on disc 

- Assemble absolute or relocatable code 

• REPEAT..UNITL. WHILE. WENQ.etc 

• Macros nestable to any depth 

• Excellent error diagnostics 

• Linker 

• Editor and symbolic disassembler 
provided 


Access and Barclaycard welcome 
Further information available 


Versions and prices 

Recommended lor Master Compact 
ADE-F MMU and65COO series assemb- 
lers on disc (3.5"ADFS) 32 K sideways 
RAM required 
£42.00 -Fvat 

Recommended for BBC B.B+ 

ADE-f MMU and65C00 series assemb- 
ler on 2 1 6K EPROMS with DFS 5.25" 
utilities disc 

£46.00 -fvat 

Recommended lor Master 128, turbo 
ADE-F MMU and65C00 seriesassemb- 
ler on EPROM cartridge with 5.25” DFS 
utility disc 

£49.00 -Fvat 

Please add £1.25 P&P per unit 
Upgrades also available 



SYSTEM 

APPLIED TECHNOLOGY 


DepL A 

Fifth Floor. Sheaf House 
Sheaf Street Sheffield SI 2BP 
Tel: (0742) 768682 



RAM MODULES 

TAPE, DISC S NETWORK systems 

★ Complete with software and write switch 

★ Easy-fit, 35x1 8x1 4mm fully encased, no soldering 

★ 32K dual socket version is ideal for ROM boards 

★ ATPL versions adds extra 16/32k. 3-position switch 

★ 32K single socket version for standard BBC ‘B’ 

★ Software includes full Load/Save/List ROMs, IfiK Clfi Qi 

15K Printer buffer, Network easy-loader, View WP n . IO , Cn . . 00 „ 
driver generator. Full Documentation. UU2I oOCk6( 32K £25.91 

Single Socket 32K £19.95 

PRINTER SWITCH BOXES 

★ Complete with all cables & connectors 

★ Robust plastic case, 100 x50 x20mm 

★ Selection by colour indicator button 

★ Printed circuit board construction 

★ Ready to use just plug in 

RSI 2 BBC’S TO 1 PRINTER £31.50 
PS2 1 BBC TO 2 PRINTERS £31.50 


17M 



« Quality modern style plastic case in beige/brown, size 205 x 1 45 x 40mm 

★ Selection by push switches fitted 
with colour change indicator buttons 

★ Data buffers fitted to the 3.7m 
cables for reliable data transfer. 

The cables on the PS3 box are 
1 x3.7m+2x 1.7m 

★ Complete and ready to use - just plug in 


D 


£ 


% 


PS3 3 BBC’s TO 1 PRINTER £59.50 
PS4 4 BBC’s TO 1 PRINTER £69.50 

(Please add £2 for each BBC Compact) 


RCAH VIEW I 

M i— ■ | — J 


Please add 15% VAT Free P&P Send Cheques/PO/Official Orders to' 
TERRELL ELECTRONICS. 7B Essex Gardens, 

Hornchurch, Essex RM11 3EH. Tel: (04024) 71426 

EDUCATIONAL DISCOUNT! 


Archimedes Macro Assembler 

Features: 

* Full ARM Instruction Set Supported 

* Powerful Macro Facility 

* Conditional Assembly 

* Free Upgrade 

£34.50 (inc. VAT) 

The Wingpass Assembler is designed to be used in con- 
junction with the ANSI ’C’ Compiler. No linker is supplied. 

Wingpass Ltd, 

2 Milestone Rd, Knebworth, HERTS SG3 6DA 


ASSEMBLY/MACHINE CODE 

PROGRAMMERS REQUIRED 

FOR BBC MICRO 

10% - 50% ROYALTIES OFFERED 

Apply for contract with C.V. 
and 5V4 sample disc to: 

P.O. BOX 3, 
CLAYTON 
BRADFORD 
BD14 6SZ 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


51 







ENTER THE EXCITING WORLDS OF 
Worlds without Words 
Dinosaur Discovery, Box of Treasures 
Granny’s Garden, DragonWorld, 
Flowers of Crystal, The Big Calculator 
Zoopak, Tele -Book, Bush Rescue 



"SEND A5 20pSAE FOR BROCHURE" V 

4MATI0N EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ^ 
LINDEN LEA. ROCK PARK. BARNSTAPLE. DEVON EX32 9AQ 
TELEPHONE: 0271 45566 



ELECTRONIC MAILBOX TTNS 01:YNK045 


7 A LOW COST DISC BASED 

PROFESSIONAL 
ACCOUNTING PROGRAM 

For the BBC Computer 


"Micro-Trader" 

INTEGRATED SALES PURCHASE AND NOMINAL LEDGERS 

Designed for business use by a business man. "Micro-Trader" offers full Sales and 
Purchase Lodger facilities including SALES INVOICE and STATEMENT PRINTING 
with a capacity of up to 1,000 accounts and 5,000 transactions per month. 
Nominal Ledger features quick and easy entry of overyday transactions. Up to 6 Bank 
Accounts, full V.A.T. facilities, Journal Posting. Full Reporting for individual accounts, 
Audit Trail. Trial Balance, Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet. 

"MICRO-STOCK" 

Stock Control program, fully integrated with 
"Micro-Trader". 4,000 Stock Items with user 
defined Codes. Invoice and Credit Notes and 
Cash Sales routine. Full Stock Held Reports. 

£75.00 -+• V.A.T. 

"EXTENDED PAYROLL" 

Micro-Aid Full Feature Extended Payroll. For use 
stand alone or integrated with "Micro-Trader". 

£49.95 4- V.A.T. 




"MICRO-MAILER" 

A Mailmerge program, fully 
integrated with "Micro-Trader”. 
With a user Database. 

£30.00 4- V.A.T. 


EL 


JA 


rchimedes 


PHONE TODAY FOR A FREE FACT SHEET 


ttlEADOU) COmPUTERS 


11. LONDON STREET. WHITCHURCH. HAMPSHIRE. RG?8 7 L H 


Telephone: Whitchurch (0256) 892008 


fllCRO ilEOIFl Computer Supplies Ltd. 



Freepost, Dept. AU, Rydal Mount, 
Baker St., Potters Bar, Herts. EN6 3BR 

PI (5 lines) [■■■I 
r \ ^1 Access & Visa Mgram 


Computer Paper 

Plain fanfold, micro perf edges 

Size Weight 1000's Price per box 

gsm perbxlbox 3bxs 5bx$ 
11x9'* 60 2000 14.50 13.90 12.90 

11x9'* 60 1000 9.50 - 

11x9’* 80 2000 19.75 18.10 16.75 

11x9'* 80 1000 11.90 - 

EXACT A4 

HVix9/4 70 2000 20.50 19.25 18.30 

90 1000 1390 12.85 1190 

Computer Labels 

Continuous fanfold, sprocket fed 

Price per 1 000 1 000 3000 5000 

70x362y.ix1 ; /i6 4,85 3.85 4.30 

89x363'*xl 5.35 4.50 4.10 

89x493'*x1 'Yift 7.50 6.60 5.90 

Please slate no of labels across sheet (1 . 2 or 3) 

Disc Storage Boxes 

Price each 1 + 34 64 

MD 1205'/.ix120 11.90 11.30 10.75 

MD 1005/1x100 9.90 9 40 8.95 

MD50 5'/ix50 7.50 7.10 6.75 

Printer Stands Price each 

Space Saver 80 col 30.50 28.50 26.95 

132 col 35.50 32.90 31.25 

Coaled Wire 80 col 13.70 12.75 11.85 

132 col 15.70 14.60 13.60 

Swivel Bases Price each 

12" 55x280x260 mm 12.90 11,75 10.90 

14" 55x355x320 mm 14.90 13.55 12.75 


Printer Ribbons 

Price each Ribbon 2 6 12 

Acorn Ink Jel 2.79 255 2.45 

Acorn API 00 2.85 2.65 2.45 

Centronics GLP 365 3.45 3.15 

R.BLGR.BR.Y 465 4.40 4 00 

Canon 1080/1156 2.99 2.85 2 70 

R.BLGR.BR.Y 4 95 465 4.25 

Citizen 120D ' 4.70 4 35 4 15 

Epson MX FXRX80FX800 3.35 3.20 305 

R.BLGR.BR.Y 470 4 45 4 25 

MX 1 00/FX 1 000/FX 1 05 390 3.70 3.50 

R.BL.BR 4,95 4.70 4.50 

LX 80/86. GX 80 280 2.65 2.40 

R.BLGR.BR.Y 3.65 3.45 3.30 

EX 800 5.98 5.65 5.20 

Juki 6 100 MS 2.85 2.70 2.60 

Kaga KP810/910 2.99 2.85 2.70 

R.BLGR.BR.Y 4.95 4.65 4.25 

Panasonic KXP 4 65 4.40 4.20 

R.BLGR.BR.Y 6.50 620 585 

ShlnwaCP80MS 4 10 385 355 

Star NL 10 525 4 95 4.70 

R.BLGR.BR.Y 615 5.85 555 

Please mix colours and types for best prices 
R - Red. BL Blue. GR Green. BR = Brown. 

Y - Yellow 

If the ribbon you require Is not listed 
please let us quote. 


S'A Unbranded Discs 

25 50 100 250 

SS/DD 9.30 18.40 34.60 73.60 

DS/40T 10.40 19.60 36.30 76.25 

DS/80T 12.20 23.10 43.10 90.85 

DSHDPCATs 39.90 71.45 133.55 293.25 

5Va Coloured Discs 

DS/40T 12.45 23.55 39.95 91.50 

DS/80T 13.45 25.40 47.40 99.95 

5Va Reversible 

2 Index Holes & Notches 

DS/80T 15.50 28.50 55.00 125.00 

3 Vfc 10 20 50 100 

DSDD 11.90 22.90 54.55 104.35 

5’/4 Branded Discs 

SS/DD 6.40 12.10 28.30 51.70 

DS/40T 7.50 14.15 33.15 61.30 

DS/80T 8.50 15.95 36.25 71.25 

DS/HDPCATs 17.90 34.30 81.20 149.80 

REVERSIBLE 9.75 18.50 43.85 81.50 

All discs supplied are with labels 5'/T write protects, 
envelopes & hub rings 100% certified error free 
lifetime guarantee. 

Vh Branded mesoww: Discs 

SS/DD 13.70 26.90 64.40 122.60 

DSDD 14.90 28.60 68.20 130.50 

DSHD 38.95 74.25 176.80 327.80 


0707 52698 


Out of Office Hours (Answer Machine) 


Orders despatched 24 hrs 
Please allow 5 days for delivery 
For guaranteed next day delivery please 
ring - from £1 ,50 extra. 

Postage covers UK only. 

ALL PRICES INCLUSIVE OF DELIVERY 
AND VAT 

Personal callers welcome 
Weekdays 8.30am - 5.30pm 
Saturdays 9.30am - 1 .00pm 

SPRING CATALOGUE 
OUT NOW 16 PAGES 
Please ring or write for your free copy. 

Wire Printer Stand 


adjusts by front 
dial turn 360° 
Tilt up & 
down 25° 


refolding of paper 

mi run mcnio.miron memo _ mirpf i mpril 

I III l\U I IUJII I I IILI\U I IUJII I I IILI\U I H-UII 


80 col HI 00 W310 D61 0mm 
132 col HI 00 W430 D610mm 

iTiirnn memo 

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MD 1 20 Static MD100 

mirnn mrnio mi mom mrmio 

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52 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 













Supports 8k, 32k, 128k RAMs 


Supports 32k RAMs 


Complete ROM filing system 


Limited ROM filing system 


Automatic device type detection 


Manual link device selection 


Automatic device configuration 


Manual command configuration 


Fast file transfer (280k bytes/sec) 


Slow file load (30k bytes/sec) 


o iiica upcu < 


Complete RAM filing system 


NO RAM filing system 


7 RAMs maximum 


2 RAMs maximum 


The two ROM boards may look alike 


7 ROMs maximum or 


w 


5 ROMs maximum 


Multiple boards extend RAM filing system 
896k RAM maximum per board 
Price £49.00 + VAT 


Not possible 


64k RAM possible per board 


Price £59.00 + VAT 


The potential for Archimedes software without a ROM podule is severely limited . There will be many ROM 
based programs in future , in addition to INTER-WORD, SHEET, CHART and SPELL-MASTER, which are 
already available . Remember, ROM based programs on the Archimedes still have many of the same 
advantages over disc based programs that they had on the BBC; programs load faster, they are more reliable, 
they are permanently available and, most important, such programs can use overlay techniques to save a 
large proportion of the available memory. Consider running a document processor, spelling checker, drawing 
program and perhaps a thesaurus; the total program size could easily be over BOOK — totally impractical, even 
on a 1 Meg machine . 

In addition the Computer Concepts’board can be used as a very fast RAM filing system, and our experience is 
that many boards are used for this. A program that uses the floppy disc intensively will gain from the RAM 
filing system, which is about 10 times faster than floppy : 

Our board is fast, cheap, flexible, expandable and easy to use. We also provide a no quibble money back 
guarantee. In a comparison, the facts speak for themselves. 


Please note: A backplane must be fitted in order to install- 
any podule expansion card. 


<e 


Computer Concepts Ltd 

Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 6EX Telephone 0442 63933 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


53 


OFFERS 


PROGRAMMER’S LANGUAGE 


THE C HANDBOOK 



Get into C with Acorn The comprehensive 
User and save £13. guide to C 


Acorn User readers can now have Beebug C and the Beebug C 
Stand Alone Generator for only £64.95, saving £13. Beebug C is 
a full implementation of the C language to the Kernighan and 
Ritchie standard, including a number of powerful extensions. 
Beebug C produces fast, compact code and supports full 
floating point maths. 

★ Runs on a standard 32k BBC model B, B+ or Master 128 

★ Supports Acorn operating system (Mode, Osbyte, VDU, etc.) 

★ Powerful command line interpreter with over 20 commands 

★ Expandable run-time library on disc containing approximately 
100 functions 

★ Full macro-handling facilities 

Readers who take advantage of this Acorn User offer will also 
receive Stand Alone Generator. This add-on to Beebug C 
produces stand alone code which will run on any BBC or Master 
computer (memory permitting). It is supplied on a dual format 
disc which also contains a number of trig functions. 

Beebug C comes on a ROM with a library disc and user guide. 

I Please send me copies of Beebug C, with the Stand 

Alone Generator at £64.95 plus £1.50 p&p. 

I Please circle as appropriate: 40/80-track or 3.5 inch for Master 
| Compact. 


A behind the scenes storm has quietly been sweeping the 
microcomputer world during the last few years: it is the C 
programming revolution. 

Mark Burgess has just completed perhaps the most compre- 
hensive guide to C ever written. In a mammoth 512 pages he 
introduces the C philosophy in a highly readable no-nonsense 
manner. Step by step, page by page, you ascend the C ladder 
with simple illustrated and documented programs. 

With 37 chapters, six appendices and glossary this book is 
amazing value for money. Programs from the book and many 
other useful utilities can be found on the program disc which 
comes with a user guide. Don't miss out - add this important 
publication to your library now. 


Please send me copies of C: A Dabhand Guide at £14.95 

copies of C and5.25 inch disc at £18.95 

copies of C and 3.5 inch disc at £19.95 

copies of C and 5.25 inch disc for PC (Master 512) at £19.95. 

Please circle as appropriate: 40/80-track/ADFS/DFS/BBC/MASTER/ 
COMPACT/ARCHIMEDES 

I enclose my cheque/postal order for £ made payable to 

Dabs Press 


| □ I enclose my cheque/postal order made payable to Beebug for £ — | □ Please debit my Access/Barclaycard £_ 
i □ Please charge my Access/Barclaycard/Connect account £ 

'ACCOUNT NO EXPIRY DATE ACCOUNT NO 

I mm i i nm mm i r m mmirr m rm 


EXPIRY DATE 


t u p : 


u 


m 


| NAME 

l ADDRESS 


NAME 

ADDRESS 


SIGNED 


POSTCODE 
DATE 


POSTCODE 

SIGNED DATE 


Send this coupon with your remittance to C Language , Acorn User Merchandising, Send this coupon with your remittance to C Book, Acorn User Merchandising, Redwood 
I Redwood Publishing Ltd, 20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ. I Publishing Ltd, 20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ. 


54 


ACORN USl-R AUGUST I98S 


ILLUSTRATION BY AXEL SCHEFFLF.R 


JOE’S JOniNGS 


GET 

PLOTTED 



Plotting graphs can be a tedious exercise - especially if you have to draw them by hand. 

Let your micro do the hard work 


Joe Telford 


‘It worked all right yesterday/ said my 
wife, peering at our flexible friend. I passed 
around a wad of papers containing lists of 
figures provided by last month’s Jottings 
spreadsheet. ‘But Daddy/ breathed my 
darling daughter, ‘I don’t understand these 
figures. I can’t see how such little numbers 
could make you so worried.’ Thus went a 
recent meeting of the Telford Financial 
Committee. But it might not be your 
family fortunes that mean you want to use 
a spreadsheet; it could be the need to assess 
home heating efficiency, or the conversion 


rate for drachmas for the Greek holiday. 
You might want to compare the tempera- 
ture and rainfall of Corfu with that of 
Consett, and in all these items the common 
thread is interpretation. 

Graphs are unlike raw numbers; they are 
understandable. Their shape indicates far 
more than the figures themselves do. 

It’s a back-breaking task to draw graphs, 
because it is mechanical. The human ele- 
ment is the interpretation of the graph, and 
because of this the less time you spend 
drawing it the better. This is an obvious 


application and quite straightforward for 
the computer to take on board. 

Rather than design a graphics package 
which would draw graphs all alone, I felt 
the spreadsheet developed in the July issue 
of Acorn User could contain the data to be 
graphed. So an add-on graphing package 
could be developed into the same user 
interface and data structures. The key 
criteria were: 

■ To be simple to use 

■ To integrate and be fully compatible 
with the original spreadsheet 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


55 


Acorn^ CENTRE 
OF THE NORTH!! 


For all your Acorn Supplies, at the best possible prices 


e.g.l 


MASTER 128 only 

....£411.58 

CUMANA CS400 D/Drive only 

...£133.92 

AMSTRAD DMP2160 PRINTER 


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56 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 



JOE’S JOTTINGS 


■ To contain full prompts for all actions 

■ To embody the key elements of all 

graphics packages. 

I decided as much information as possible 
should be converted directly from any 
previously designed spreadsheet, so the 
only typed input would have to be the title 
of the graph. 

How it works 

As with last month’s spreadsheet, this 
package is designed on the ‘see-do-inform’ 
principle -once an action has been initiated, 
messages keep you informed on how to 
progress next. All the initial commands are 
accessed through the red function keys, 
sometimes in association with the Shift or 
CTRL keys. As with the spreadsheet, this 
program does not have a ‘command mode’ - 
such modes are confusing in the early stages 
of learning. 

Messages explain what the system is 
doing at any point and any problems that 
occur should pop-up in the message space at 
the top of the sheet. 

Right from the beginning, the philosophy 
•that graphs are about interpretation and 
comparison requires that more than one 
graph should be visible. So this package has 
data ready for two graphs which can appear 
on screen either separately or together. In 
addition there is a range of graph types, 
some of which are more applicable to 
certain types of data than others. The 
program on the yellow pages has pie charts, 
bar graphs and line graphs in its repertoire. 

Like last month’s spreadsheet, the main 
filing tasks are cataloguing a disc, loading 
and saving files, plus deleting files. These 
tasks should be self-explanatory once in- 
voked. In addition, the spreadsheet should 
work on any currently selected filing sys- 
tem. With ADFS or NFS, directories S and 
N need to be created. 

It is important to be able to print out a 
hard copy of the graphs which the package 
generates, so an Epson-compatible four- 
tone screen dump is included in the prog- 
ram. However, you can easily replace this 
with a star-command if you have a screen 
dump ROM, or with your own favourite 
mode 1 screen dump. 

With any graphing package, it is essential 
to classify and scale the data in some way. 
This is performed by automatic scaling of 
the numerical axis - the program searches 
for the highest values among the data and 
plots the axes accordingly. 

The two graphs must be clearly separated 
using different colours, and a ‘key’ function 
allows each axis to be labelled from the 



You don’t have to enter any new data to produce graphs - this bar chart was drawn from 
information stored in Joe’s spreadsheet 



Figure 1. Data loaded from the spreadsheet is plotted as a bar chart 


contents of the appropriate spreadsheet slot. 
The title can be added to the finished graph 
by a simple three-line input via a ‘title’ 
function key. 

Using the graphics package 

Because the program is so large, you must 
be very careful typing it into memory. Once 
the program is entered, save it onto the 
same disc as the spreadsheet from last 
month’s Acorn User. You might use the 
filename GRAPH. Do this first so that your 
work isn’t accidentally lost. 

This will still allow you to save about 14 
spreadsheets on DFS, 47 on ADFS or 
hundreds with NFS. 

On a hierarchical filing system like ADFS 
or NFS, you need two extra directories, S 
and N. S is for files holding the text and 
formulae for the spreadsheet, while N is for 
files which hold the actual numbers. When 
you have these set up, the next stage is to 
build an autoboot file as follows: 


*DPT4,3 

♦BUILD ! BOOT 

0001 *KEY 0 MODE 129: 
CHAIN "SPREAD” !M 

0002 *KEY 1 MODE 123: 
CHAIN "GRAPH” !M 

0003 CLS: PRINT’ "fO = 
Spreadsheet "-f 1 = Graph 

package" 

ESCAPE 

Now whenever you press Shift-Break the 
prompt on screen allows you to start the 
appropriate program. 

There are a number of functions available 
for us to use in the graphics package. Some, 
like the cursor keys, filing, restart and exit 
keys arc identical to the spreadsheet, while 
others, like the Print key, have extended 
functions. All the functions share the same 
physical location as those on the function 
key overlay strip. Those unique to the 
graphics package are all accessed through a 
combination of holding down CTRL plus a 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


57 






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58 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 







JOE’S JOTTINGS 



function key. The complete overlay, which 
can be used for both packages, is shown on 
page 61. 

The cursor keys allow movement around 
the sheet, and are crucial to the mechanism 
for selecting graphical data. Using CTRL 
with the cursor keys causes the cell cursor 
to jump quickly to the left and right edges 
of the sheet or to the top and bottom. The 
Shift key in conjunction with the cursor 
keys move the cell cursor four slots at a 
time. Remember that the package is written 
in Basic so functions like redrawing the 
screen take a little time. 

Filing 

All the red keys which affect filing are 
shared with the spreadsheet and work in 
exactly the same way. Pressing f4 at any 
time catalogues the current disc, concentrat- 
ing on the S directory. Anything in here 
should be a loadable spreadsheet file. The 
Space bar brings you back to the spread- 
sheet program. Key f5 allows you to save 
the spreadsheet. When pressed, a message 
asks you for the filename. Simply type a 
filename of up to seven letters and press 
Return. After a while the files will be saved. 
If a problem arises, such as a full disc or 
catalogue, or if a file already exists with the 
same name, you will be informed and can 
take appropriate action - by deleting the file 
for example. 

With all these filing functions, simply 
pressing Return instead of a filename will 
show a catalogue of the disc. Press Space 
then type in a filename. 

Like the spreadsheet, you can delete all 
the data by restarting the whole package. 
To do this, press Shift-f9 and answer the 
message with Y. The program will restart 
after a while. Pressing f9 by itself issues a 
‘Do you really want to end?’ message. 
Press Y at this point will bring you back to 
Basic. These keys are shared with the 
spreadsheet. 

Using the graphing functions 

The first thing to do is to load the spread- 
sheet from which the graph(s) will be 
drawn. Let’s assume it looks like figure 1. 

The next stage is to decide which graphs 
you require. Let’s assume you need a 
comparison of sales in the first halves of 
1987 and 1988. You can start by pressing 
CTRL-fO, the ‘title’ key. You then have 
three lines in which to write this title - and 
you could enter the information as: 

Sales Figures 

First Half Year 

1987 compared to 1988 


Once done, an ‘Is this OK?’ message 
appears. Press Y to confirm or N to 
re-enter details. Once the details are final- 
ised, they will appear automatically centred 
on the top three lines of the graph screen. 

Now you need to set up the horizontal 
axis labels for both graphs, and here you 
might need to record the months as col- 
umn titles. The column of months is called 
the ‘legend’, and you start this off by 
pressing CTRL-fl. You are prompted to 
move to the start of the legend, then to 
press Return. This is done using the cursor 
keys to move the cell cursor to ‘Jan’ on the 
spreadsheet display, then Return is pressed. 
When the message changes, and prompts 
you to move to the end of the legend, 
move down the column to ‘June’ and press 
Return. This identifies the legend as part of 
the column. 

Now press CTRL-f3 the ‘key’ key. A 
message asks which graph this key is for. 
Answer with 1, then follow the next in- 
struction to move to the slot containing the 
key and press Return. The slot is the one 
containing T987Sale’. 

Adding data 

You start data collection by pressing 
CTRL-f2. First you arc asked to tell the 
computer which graph you are collecting 
data for. You can do this by pressing the 
number key 1. Now you are prompted to 
move the cursor to the start of the data, then 
press Return. The data or graph 1 starts 
under the ‘ 1 987Sale’ heading opposite ‘Jan’, 


and we move to this point. After pressing 
Return, the message then asks you to move 
to the end of the data for graph 1 and to 
press Return. In this case, you should move 
the cursor down the column to the figure 
opposite ‘June’ and press Return. This 
identifies the six data values for graph 1. 

To select the second set of data press 
CTRL-f3. A message asks which graph this 
key is for. Answer with 2, then follow the 
next instruction to move to the slot contain- 
ing the key text and press Return. The slot 
is ‘1988sale’. Move there, press Return and 
you have set the key for graph 2. Then press 
CTRL-f2 again, and once more you are 
asked to tell the computer what graph you 
are collecting data for. Answer with the 
number 2. Now you are told to move to the 
start of the data, then press Return. The 
data for graph 2 starts under the T988sale’ 
heading opposite ‘Jan’, so move to this 
point and press Return. Then fix the end of 
the data by moving the cursor down to the 
figure opposite ‘June’, as before, and pres- 
ing Return. 

Selecting and printing the graph 

Now comes the easy part. Simply choose 
the graph representation you wish to use, 
and press the function keys accordingly: 
CTRL-f4 for a pie chart, CTRL-f5 for a bar 
chart, or CTRL-f6 for a line graph. 

Once the option is selected, the prompt 
asks whether you want to draw graph 1 or 
2, or both. Press 1, 2 or B. Note, though, 
that the ‘B’ must be a capital letter. Then the 


ACORN US ILK AUGUST 1988 


59 



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60 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 








JOES JOTTINGS 



The same data again, as a line graph 


appropriate graph is drawn, complete with 
keys, legend and title. 

Note that the pie chart option does not 
use a legend, although it is useful to know 
that the pie chart is drawn anticlockwise 
from 12 o’ clock, so that the sectors could 
be identified if necessary. Any pie chart can 
have up to 20 sectors before the colour 
patterns start to repeat. 

Of course, you need to print out graphs, 
and the simplest way to do this is by using a 
screen dumping procedure. The letter P 
flashes in the bottom left-hand corner of the 
screen whenever the facility to print the 
screen contents is available. Make sure that 
an Epson-compatible printer is available, 
properly connected and set at the top of the 
page, then press the Print key on the 
function key overlay. This is f8, and is one 
of the keys shared by the spreadsheet and 
the graphics package. Notice that in the 
spreadsheet this key gives a print-out of the 
whole sheet in columns and rows, or in 
terms of cell contents, but cannot print any 
screen graphics. In the graphics package, the 
key only functions when a graph plus a 
flashing P is on screen. It will only dump 
the current screen to printer. 

Once Print has been pressed, the printer 
should stutter briefly (if it doesn’t it might 
not be on-line) and the flashing P will 
become a steady * to indicate printing is in 
progress. I decided to include this facility 
because the Basic routine for dumping is 
very slow. It should run faster on an Arc. 

Eventually the screen will be dumped, 
and the explanation key (if used) will 
match the colours on both graphs, so they 
can be separated. Note, however, that the 
final print-out is tone-reversed: white and 
black are reversed on the hard copy, while 
the red graph axes are very light indeed. 
Once the print-out is performed, the 
flashing P reappears, and a further print- 
out of the same graph can be done. Or you 
can return to the spreadsheet to set up 
another graph. To do this simply press the 
space bar. Do not press Escape! 

ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


One possible alteration to the program 
would be to have to three graphs available 
instead of two, and to use red for the third 
graph, with yellow for the axes. I’m sure 
that you expert users can deliver the goodies 
yourselves. A little hint is to search for 
arrays that are dimensioned as arrayname 
(2), and arrange for element (0) to contain 
info about the third graph! 

Remember I suggested in the last issue 
that the spreadsheet can be considered to be 
a long roll of paper which you can pull 
through a viewing area (the screen) in 
windows of four columns by 25 rows? This 
program actually extends this idea by 
adding two extra areas, one on the left of the 
sheet and one on the right, which have no 
rows or columns. These are available as 
graphing areas. 

Knowing where these areas are is useful, 
if for example the automatic exit from the 
graph page doesn’t take place (eg, because 
you hit Escape during a print-out). You can 
recover the spreadsheet simply by using 
Shift right, then Shift left, or in some cases 
Shift left, then Shift right. 

Complex graphing 

It is just possible to display two graphs 
from different sheets, for example in the 
situation where monthly figures for a year 
are on two different graphs. The process is 
as follows: 

■ Load first sheet 

■ Select key slot for graph 1 

■ Select data for graph 1 

■ Select legend for both graphs 

■ Load second sheet 

■ Select key slot for graph 2 

■ Select data for graph 2 (NB, matching 
row, column and number of items) 

■ Add title 

■ Graph both 

Combining the programs 

If you’ve got enough memory, the whole 
package including the spreadsheet program 
could be combined to run in one unit. It is 
important to realise that both programs 
make large memory demands because of the 
array of structures used. Anyone consider- 
ing combining the programs should consid- 
er shortening the variable names, altering 
the main spreadsheet data-structure and 
using either BAS128 on a Master or a 
co-processor with HiBasic. 

So now we’ve got Lotus 1-2-3. 

For the one or two readers who have 
asked me why I haven’t yet produced 
HyperCard on the BBC Master. I fully 
intend to get down to it as soon as possible. 


61 



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62 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 






f*>ctLre Views 20 *nd 28 megabyte lt*Ts 40 and S6 megabyte sots mgf be i*^tdy ttlef n lue 


f you want to increase your storage capacity up to an 
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The Viglen Winchester is ready to plug straight 
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WHAT DO I GET FOR MY MONEY 

/. Winchester Unit -(winchester drive, controller boards, power supply and fan all fitted in one 
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2. Master Reference manual part I (for a BBC B or B plus you will require the Acorn ADFS ROM 
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3. Winchester user guide. 

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program that will run on the Acorn winchester will also run on the Viglen winchester. The 
winchesters also run with the Acorn Master 512 board with DOS plus (CPM86 and 
MSDOS compatible operating system). 

BACK OF UNIT 

I MHz IN: This socket is used to connect the micro to the winchester 
I MHz OUT: This socket is used to connect any other device that is normally 
plugged into the I MHz bus on the micro. 

DRIVE I DATA: This is a 20 way socket which is used to connect the data 
signals to a second winchester drive. 

DRIVE I CONTROL: This is a 34 way socket which is used to connect the 
control signals to a second winchester drive. 

HOWTO ORDER 

Simply write off today to Viglen and remember to add £8.00 carriage, packing and 
insurance, and allow 7 days for delivery. Credit card holders may order by 
telephone. If you’d like to find out more why not come down to our West 
London showroom (see map for directions) or if you can’t make it simply ask for 
datasheet 



The Perfect Partners 

Unit 7, Trumpers Way, Hanwell, London W7 2QA. Sales Hotline 01 843 9903. 



OPENING TIMES 
MONDAY - FRIDAY 9.00 - 5.30 

Orders from Educational 
Establishments, Government 
Departments and Pic 
Companies accepted. 
Education discounts available, 
write or phone for details. 

Prices correct at time of going to press and subject to availability 





ILLUSTRATIONS BY GARY POWELL 


ADVENTURES 


VENTURE 
INTO TIME 

In the first of a three-part series, we look at how the adventure game has developed 
and bring you the exciting Warlord on disc 


T he adventure game is dead - long 
live the adventure game! Like pap- 
er in the office, like mail that gets 
delivered through the letter box in 
the morning, like black-and-white 
newspaper, and even like books, the text 
adventure game has been declared dead. 
But it refuses to lie down. The prophets of 
the future, with their paperless offices, 
electronic mail, on-line news and compact- 
disc books, predict that we will move on to 
newer and better ways of doing things, 
forgetting that there is usually a place for 
the old and familiar. We still ride horses, 
even though we use cars or planes, because 
it is a relaxing and pleasurable activity. 

So with the adventure game. It has given 
rise to offspring as varied as that famous 
adventure with graphics, The Hobbit , from 
Melbourne House, and purely graphical 
games with adventurous objectives and 
puzzles like Superior Software's Citadel . 
There are also the multi-user dungeons like 
the famous one from Essex University, and 
even adventure parks that have nothing to 
do with computers but borrow their ideas 
and puzzles from adventures. All these 
.owe some debt to the original adventure by 
Crowther and Woods. 

No-one writes or sells games like Pac- 
Man any more. The arcades are now full of 
games that go on and on, puzzle beyond 
puzzle, scene after scene. People like varie- 
ty, something new opening up as each 
problem is solved, doors opening into 
secret gardens. In short, even in the arcade- 
type games that are nothing but graphics 
and movement, timing and skill, people 
want adventure. Think what Frak! or Rep- 
ton would be without the element of 
exploration. In 1988, adventure is every- 



where. Yet with all the excitement of the 
arcade adventures, multi-user dungeons or 
adventure parks, the original text adventure 
still has a very special place. Neither the 
cinema nor television is quite the same as 
opening the first page of an unread novel. 
And nothing will substitute for settling 
down at the computer terminal to load in 
the first frame of a new text adventure. 

These are games that can take you back- 
wards and forwards in time, into fairyland, 
or on hilarious holidays to the Costa 
Brava; to strange planets or haunted man- 
sions, slaying dragons or tracking down 
murderers. Yet they are games that never 
hurry you, games you can savour and take 
your time over, games you can leave when 
you will and take up again where you left 
off. They are among the most relaxing 
computer programs ever written - the 
equivalent of the folk tale told around the 
camp fire. Perhaps one day the adventure 
game will find its Homer, someone who 
will perfect and define it for all time. 

But perhaps the original Adventure was 
already near to perfection: ‘The glowing 
rock fills the farthest reaches of the cavern 
with a blood-red glare, giving everything 
an eerie, macabre appearance. The air is 


filled with flickering sparks of ash and a 
heavy smell of brimstone. The walls are 
hot to the touch, and the thundering of the 
volcano drowns out all other sounds. 
Embedded in the jagged roof far overhead 
are myriad twisted formations composed 
of pure white alabaster, which scatter the 
murky light into sinister apparitions on the 
walls. The one side is a deep gorge, filled 
with a bizarre chaos of tortured rock 
which seems to have been crafted by the 
devil himself. An immense river of fire 
crashes out of the depths of the volcano, 
burns its way through the gorge, and 
plummets into a bottomless pit far off to 
your left. To the right, an immense geyser 
of blistering steam erupts continuously 
from a barren island in the centre of a 
sulphurous lake. . . 5 

The prose may be purple, but imagine 
that greeting after several dozen tricky 
puzzles. If you have played the original 
Adventure , you won’t have to imagine - 
you will surely remember arriving at the 
volcano cavern for the first time. There is 
no experience quite like finally cracking a 
problem in an adventure, and being re- 
warded by entering a new and exciting 
location, leading on to further parts of the 
game. In the end, every adventure is in 
essence a series of locked doors to which 
you must find the keys. 

That first adventure was written just 10 
years ago in Fortran on a DEC mainframe, 
by Willie Crowther and Don Woods. 
Shortly after, Scott Adams fitted it into a 
16k micro, and went on to write some of 
the best adventures around. Some of the 
games that experienced players consider 
landmarks in the brief 10-year history of 
the genre are the Zork series from In- 


64 


ACORN USKR AUGUST 1988 



ADVENTURES 


focom, The Hobbit published by Mel- 
bourne House and the adventures pro- 
duced for the BBC micro by Level 9 some 
years ago; these include a good version of 
the Crowther and Woods original - Col- 
ossal Adventure. Acornsoft brought out 
some small but well-known adventures 
when the BBC micro was young: Philo- 
sophers' Quest , Kingdom of Ramil and 
Castle of Riddles. Derek Haslam’s Gate- 
way to Karos , also published by Acornsoft, 
is one of the best adventures ever written 
specifically for the BBC micro. In spite of 
this, he cannot find a publisher for the 
sequel, Mirror of Khoronz , which is a great 
loss to adventure lovers. And there’s also 
the huge Acheton , the first disc-only BBC 
adventure. 

The truth is that most of the technical 
innovations used to ‘improve’ the adven- 
ture game are not essential. The program 
tells you where you are, and waits for you 
to type in some instruction, such as 
MOVE NORTH or TAKE GOLD, to say 
what you want to do next. Of course, the 
technical wizards have taken this simple 
formula and added much sophistication, 
such as the use of more than two words for 
input, complex ‘parsing’ programs so that 
the player can almost type in ordinary 
English, and creatures that move around in 
the adventure, apparently with wills of 
their own. But even the first adventure had 
axe-throwing dwarfs, the pirate and the 
troll, and a single long sentence is usually 
just a sequence of two-word commands. 

Perhaps the only pleasure that compares 
with playing adventures is writing them. 
You need a good adventure generator 
program, since you don’t want mere tech- 
nicalities to inhibit your literary or puzzle- 
constructing flair - several have been pub- 
lished for the BBC micro. The February 
1984 issue of Acorn User contained the 
listing of a Basic adventure by Joe Telford, 
which you could modify. The rest depends 
on imagination, a sense ot humour, the gift 
of lateral thinking, and more than a little 
inspiration. You must be able to write well 
since there is nothing as annoying as play- 
ing an adventure full of spelling mistakes. 

On this month’s disc there is the first 
part of a massive disc-based adventure that 
I wrote in 1984 with Graham Williams. 
The Warlord was originally published in a 
different form on cassette by BBC Soft, 
but in its new clothes is available to Acorn 
User readers who buy both this month’s 
and next month’s listings discs. 

Graham provided an ambitious script 
which clearly could not fit into the mem- 


ory of an unexpanded model B, even using 
the most sophisticated modern text com- 
pression techniques. Nevertheless, the plan 
of the adventure was magnificent and the 
quirky humour was exactly pitched to 
appeal to adventure-lovers. The final game 
could be played either as two interlinked 
adventures on a 32k model B, or as a single 
seamless adventure of 54k on disc, using 
overlays. Before text compression, the total 
size of the adventure was over 100k. It had 
more than 200 locations, with scores of 
words being understood and the command 
entry system understanding or parsing up 
to four words, for instance ‘place screw- 
driver in crucible’. 

The integrated disc version of The War- 
lord has six overlays, that is, at six points in 
the adventure the disc drive will turn on 
and a new series of locations will be loaded 



in. The whole adventure is written in a 
special compressed pseudocode interpreted 
by a machine code program that operates 
at high speed: effectively, the micro is 
turned into an ‘adventure processor’ at the 
lowest level possible. The machine code 
replaces the Basic language, the pseudo- 
code ‘adventure’ effectively replaces the 
Basic program. 

On this month’s disc, in directory W, is 
the interpreter, all the data files needed for 
getting the adventure up and running, and 
the first three of the six overlays. It would 
be a good idea to put all the Warlord files 
in directory W, along with the overlays, 
onto a fresh disc, so you have room to save 
your positions. You can play the first half 
of the adventure right away, and next 
month you can copy the remaining three 
overlays over from directory W, and con- 
tinue the game to the end. You must keep 
the disc in the drive at all times, because of 
the overlays. If the disc is missing, the 
error message ‘disc:’ will appear. Put the 
right disc in, and press Return. 

To play the game, when the arrow 
prompt appears simply type in anything 
that comes into your head. You can move 
north (N), south (S), east (E) or west (W), 


and in some locations up (U), down (D), 
left (L), right (R), back (B) or forwards (F), 
enter (EN) or exit (X). All the action 
words in the adventure can be shown on 
screen by typing HELP. Apart from the 
direction words, everything must be typed 
in full, without abbreviation. 

The aim of the game is to collect certain 
objects that your time-travelling friend 
Tim Trevyl will need right at the end. 
Which objects? Well, that’s for you to 
discover! The first part of the adventure is 
set in the future in Tim Tre.vyl’s time 
machine; the second part is set on the night 
before the battle of Waterloo in Belgium. 

Typing STORE will save the present 
position in the game, while RESTORE 
does just that - restores the stored situa- 
tion. You will get killed quite a few times 
at the beginning of the game, since much of 
the adventure’s sense of humour is tied up 
with finding amusing ways to bump you 
off! When you get killed, press 1 to restart 
the game from the beginning, or 2 to carry 
on from the last position you stored. 

To save your position on disc, type 
SAVE a, SAVE b or SAVE with any other 
letter from a to z. The file will be saved (as 
War-a and so on). You can save up to 26 
positions and reload any of them using 
LOAD followed by the correct letter. 

You will find the game becomes progres- 
sively more difficult, culminating in over- 
lay six which is extremely hard. If you are 
one of those players who do not like to get 
stuck for hours with an insoluble problem, 
hints and answers for the first three over- 
lays will be found in coded form on pages 
67 and 69. Find the question that best 
expresses your current frustration, type the 
command DC and when a question mark 
appears, carefully type each character of 
the Hint (H) or Answer (A) that follows 
your question. Provided you make no 
mistakes, the hint or answer to the prob- 
lem should be decoded on screen as you 
type. Be very careful to distinguish be- 
tween O and 0, I and 1, and the hyphen 
and underline symbols. 

Good luck, and happy adventuring. 
There will be more about The Warlord 
next month - how it works and how it was 
created. In the meantime, here are some of 
the odder quirks to look out for: I am 
mentioned in the adventure, and so are two 
other people who work for or write in 

Acorn User - see if you can find us. 

Warlord is only available on the monthly 
disc. We regret that the length of the 
program makes it impossible to include in 
the yellow pages. 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


65 


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ADVENTURES 



WARLORD HINTS 

Q: I GET LOST IN THE MIST 
H: =KH7 : AC@T) JM$=M9>M=F>\ 
A: @HQ . ACB4$496F99Y05MA<? ! 

Q: I NEED SOME MONEY 
H: EC@<U&ICN ! . 7§?H9)@@A 
A: '@@[ER44=[T9X:A-BH$ 

Q: I KEEP DROWNING IN THE MARSH 
H: R6FK(9U/[320L96F=N36>AL?M4;@Q,CHX 
A: LA5C@T ' HQ. ACB4$496F99Y05MA<? ! 

Q: I NEED SOME GOLD 

H : M4 = [ , 5M6HCC2# , M$=T2AL1MN ( 9RM#E9Q ; " 
A: M>GG44=[ )E@RM3 . AEL44=["?S@89AC<G8+ 

Q: I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING IN THE DARK 
H: R6FK . 7@?\ ! R06JA-M5B* 

A: ?CE6\ !_, 5LCP!M6\, =>ALL)K[ 

Q: I NEED SOME MORE SILVER 
H: ?CIAAL ' >0L , I . HNG7 2K4X ' H=8 + 

A: M4=M3[)JM!_"S?§;?R)ER!_ / C4H:?\2=@>" 

Q: I GET BLOWN UP BY THE MINE 
H: GAEL/?>MG ' H=8\ ) JM/7Z6+KI0* 

A: =K?Y-L4-J: [ !MK; 4AE9Y&L=>S44=M3* 

Q: I NEED A THIRD SILVER BUTTON 
H: H?7[7*RM$N=A@5?\/G/MN ! 0B3>FG9:B* 
A: EC@<U$KH7R ) ER44= [ 2/U3E7 * 

Q: I GET SHOT BY A DEAD TROOPER 
H: L2MD/NM96FK27>ALL&ICN,C@E5E9 ( 
A: EC@<U%GG2R1=M3 [&ICN !_7 . <0?? ! 

Q: I'VE BEEN TO THE CITY BUT I STILL CAN'T FIND TIM TREVYL 
H: M-J:[44=[' R7CFN , M ! CR3 : B* 

A: ;?BHU4;Q44=[3A-QBX4!M6\5>2 [44= [2/CEF 

Q: I GET FATALLY BURNED BY COINS 
H: M4=M3[ ! Q3 [ #L@=T#L : EEM . 7 <QN ( =M3 * 

A: @K3§?\&ICN ' H=8\72C0T ' >OL96FK . AH1=M3 * 

Q: WHAT DO I DO ABOUT THE RUFFIAN? 

H: :F@K3N@6F?R-OALL' >OL96FK3 < >8R1=M3* 
A: AAKL44= [ 2C10C8MRM34C2 : B* 

Q: I GET CARRIED INTO SPACE BY A MISSILE 
H: P19SL96FK320FU) JM. AEL( =M3* 

A: =K?Y-L4-J : [ 44= [ ' H=8\/?R44= [ 2/LC_ 

Q: I CAN'T GET BACK PAST THE DOG 
H: @BM/[ )KL3<>8 [%S-M1FJ2* 

A: ?CE6\!_"M?7[ !M6\44J=HI)K[ 

Q: I CAN'T FIND THE CUBIX 

H: < >K@ = E9%4#>K@=E9 ' 2 , 5S1MZ4 , 5S1M] 

A: 03J6KL44= [#FKES444=IR5>2 [ 44= [ 2/CEF 

Q: HOW CAN I GET PAST THE CENTRAL COURTYARD? 
H: ;C[/F=N'N0NALM3/CN44=[+>E9 ,\ 

A: L5GHI44=HS96F=N)EH3K-S5F? ! 

Q: I CAN'T GET THE DEAD TROOPER'S GOLD OR HIS LANCE 
H: L2MD/NM96FK27 >ALL&ICN , C0E5E9 ( 

A: M>C0[M3"S?L44=M3",M!MAE4=MN,5M5B* 

Q: HOW DO I GET THROUGH THE ENTRANCE HALL? 
H: R6FK(9U/[! 23P> . AJ9[ JK1HS72K4X96FZ 
A: @BM/[44= [ )EH3K-S5F? ! 

Q: I CAN'T GET THROUGH THE DESERT 
H: E=D<K1?\%S85?EK5F?EM#>MR"C [ 5 >2A07# 
A: A9Q2HMG3B=>B7J6E9 ' 2 )KS , M$A<CHMV 

Q: I’M NOT ALLOWED THROUGH THE CARVED DOORS 
H: R6FK-H>AL"C [ 4 ; 0Q3OOC10SV 
A: ?CE6\44=[$N3N@6E9Y2=§>" 

Q: I CAN'T FIND TIM TREVYL 
H: L<>8=M5UG+CAH<M71=M3[ (=[ )J\ 

A: M4= [+>E9Y ! M6\ ( AJM" JC05CN , Q2\+CAHX 

Q: THE GUARDS ARE FASCINATED BY MY ACCENT • 
H: ? ; R0FE3S1 [44=HS%Q/IR-BC3* 

A: M-K?U!AMF?L45DS4>3QC3# 

Q: I CAN'T GET OUT OF THE DESERT 
H: M4AE=U"?BH#2 )KS ,M44= [ 7 . NA1M<R$AN2MB[ 
A: K30>/BB[96F=N3A1KCY4/CN'HQ%<RA[ 

Q: I FALL TO MY DEATH FROM A TREE 
H: R6FK ! Q3 [ )ER4 ; @Q-H . EX/7Z ! (M=@GV 
A: <I=D5~$KH7R"CAIC3[96FK-BG/[/7<3) 

Q: THE KING'S BLOODGUARD ARE NASTY TO ME 
H: R,OL6+Q/M9 : QN ) JM45DS4> 3QC3 [ ,M&L7<I6+ 
A: L.XG45DS4>3QC3[ , M. 3L8* 

Q: THE DOG WON'T GIVE ME WHAT I WANT 
H: BKS,M! 'K3§?UG$K8( 

A: M4=M3[lQ3[44J3@["M?7N[2’>OL!MAE4=M] 

Q: I GET LOST IN THE MOUNTAINS 
H: FBC3 [&I§=T96FZ 

A: M4=M3 [ ) JM . AE4AE9Y44=M3 ) 2 ' HQ3 <F?4 ' 

Q: WHAT USE IS THE HAYSTACK? 

H: M4= [ 6+KIO [ ) JM7 2K4AE ! 

A: EC@<U)ER)KL&ICN3<>804AE9Y96FK.7@?+ 

Q: I CAN'T GET THROUGH THE FOREST 
H: BKL*K>AL-OALL"C[ ! 4>/0 
A: @HQ . ACB4X4 ; Q ' >OL/F? [ 

Q: WHERE CAN I GET A WEAPON 
H: : 3<?; : ] , 5M5B ' 405M690C , 0 
A: BER44=[&;QN7.NA[ 

Q: HOW CAN I AVOID BEING ROBBED ON THE ROAD? 
H: R6FK. 7@?\3<>8[$AA?I5B* 

A: ?CE6\! J7. <O??~4/CN0?H .M407T&L7 <I60\ 

Q: I NEED SOME GLASS 

H: M4=M3[ ) JM0<9IFEG ! Q=F96* 2 . 7<QN!M6\&;Q] 
A: M4=M3 [ ) JM-BC3 [ 449MR/?7 [ 3 <F=1B ) 244AE=$ 

Q: HOW CAN I MAKE USE OF THE GYPSIES? 
H: R6FK . 7@?\44= [-<J@6E9Y%G9H8IF[ 

A: @BM/[44=HS ! _36CJ/MN"S?@ ; ? ! 

Q: THE KING IS APPALLED BY MY LACK OF COURTESY 
H: M5DS4>3QC3T+CAH<M719SL4 ;Q$K 
A: K3<C\44=[ .AE1[/?R44=["C?N=@>S$K@C] 

Q: I GET KILLED IN THE BANDITS' CAMP 
H: §>OL,I.HNG72K4X'H=8+ 

A: R6FK . 7@?\44 = [ ' H=8\ , C4H : 0[ 

Q: I GET EATEN BY A VOORVOKURP 
H: E=B:[! 35=@KP96FK ( 9U/ [ ' H?7 [ ! RA>/XV 
A: M4=[0<5BB[96FK!Q3[ )ER) JM!_4>/0_ 

Q: I GET KILLED FALLING DOWN THE RAVINE 
H: :0@B=2BEX )KL&L=>S44= [%<RA[ 

A: N>2[ !_2=A5* 

Q: I CAN'T FIND A LAMP 
H : @HQ4 ; Q44= [ & ; QN% < RAX 4 ! M6\$KH7 ! 

A : : SL44 = [ "ME@ ; >S/7Z44= [ "?BHU3A-HIA\ 

Q: I GET SHOT AT THE WEST GATE 
H: I1S5<I5B[-LG&L7<I6+ 

A: P*HKL ! SL44= [ ' :Sl[&ICN/?7[ 4A=< ! 

Q: I HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF THEFT AND THROWN IN THE DUNGEON 
H: BKS,M27J8NG"CDE9Y05I@;C9N@\ 

A: ;SDG!_$N7E=UM3$K?Y-L3A1<K# 

Q: I GET EXECUTED AT THE WEST GATE 
H: M4= [ ' N, Q20M&CE6\3< >804AE9Y/7@?IE6M/* 
A: R6FK-H>AL$N=AP44= [ , 5M5B* 

Q: I FALL AND BREAK MY NECK IN THE CITY 
H: M4=M3[ ! Q3 [ /E4=MN7*X : M/7Z ' H : E9Y4 ; Q-4Q9 : 0[ 
A: @HQ3<F?4$444=IR%<RAX444=IR . ACB4 ' 

Q: I GET EATEN ALIVE IN THE MOAT 
H: R6FK-H>AL"C[ 6/MGG39CHX 
A: <I=D5~"?BHU5 ; P4 ;Q44 = [ "P7 ; C> * 

Q: HOW CAN I GET THE GREAT HUMMING DOOR OPEN? 
H: M4=M3[ ! Q3 [ 4C8Q36 ; ANM4 ;Q)K [ 

A: H?>MG&L=>S44=[)EE6;A* 

Q: I CAN’T GET PAST THE DOG 
H: ;M?7 [ ) ;H9 [#R=Z4"MC3?\ ! M6\ (M99KGV 
A: ?CE6\!_"M?7[4;Q'BM/[ (AD" 

Q: HOW CAN I GET INTO THE INDEX ROOM 
H: R6FK(9U/[%T,NY4$K?Y-L96F*0 
A: BEE=5>QL44= [$K@C] 

Q: WHAT CAN I USE TO DISTRACT THE DOG? 

H: EC@<U ! Q=F96*2 . AEL/?7 ["S?L44J3@\N 
A: BER44= [ 7 . G@ 444= [#BG@5QAY444= [1D,Q@GV 

Q: WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS FUNNY SHAPED HOLE? 
H: BEE2MBL3< >804AE9Y44= [3 .L8[35905* 

A: R6FK . 7@?\ ! ( =S) FH? 3KT+ : TV 

Q: A SOLDIER KNOCKS ME IN THE MOAT 
H: K3G5WI?"C[&L7<I6HMG4 ;Q(ADTN 
A : L . XG ( =G@CQM3/CN ! MK ; 4AE9Y%GG2 * 

Q: I NEED SOME KEYS 
H: @>OL96F=A2G : Z#>0DA=3?+ 
A: M4= [ "?M6EK?M( 9U/[3<>8* 

Q: I CAN'T FIND THE WELL 
H: K3<C\#>Q3A07@MG/?R44= [ . ACB4X7*K@# 
A: GACB40.NAL)ER44=[-4Q9 :OL3>D,Q3* 

Q: I CAN'T FIND THE RAVINE FROM THE EAST 
H: M4=M3 [ ) JM ! 01S4X, 9<CEE9Y44=M3* 

A: P . NAL&L=>S1D,Q@GG/CN . ACB4X&L= >S2=2C+ 

Q: I CAN’T GET OUT OF THE WELL ALIVE 
H: M4= [ ' K/U3KEG/7Z96F=N%M§=CN ! O01KGM5 >\ 
A: H?>MG4-J:[/?7[/3H;>QL72K4X96FZ 

Q: I SEEM TO NEED AN INDEX CARD 
H: M4=M3 [ ) JM ! 2=@>S&ICN44= [0E=>?D2* 
A: ?CE6\ ! 7*XG)EF;Q44=[ )E6ASH2=@>" 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


67 



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NEW 

STAR LC10 COLOUR PRINTER 

.Ex VAT £216.52 Inc VAT £249.00 


» ARCHIMEDES UPGRADES: 


Floppy Disc Drive 

125.00 

143.75 

20MB Hard Disc & Podulc 

DEALERS UPGRADE ONLY 

499.00 

573.85 

Podule Backplane 

39.00 

44.85 

ROM Podulc 

59.00 

67.85 

I/O Podule 

79.00 

90.85 

CC ROM Podulc 

49.00 

56.35 

CC ROM Podulc + Battery Backup 

59.00 

67.85 

ARCHIMEDES SOUND SYSTEMS 
EMR - SOUND SYNTH 


Armadillo Sound Sampler 

110.00 

126.50 

Armadillo Sound Sampler + FFf 

140.00 

161.00 

ARCHIMEDES DATA TRANSFER 


Archimedes 5.25/3.5 Disk Interface 

25.00 

28.75 

Archimedes - BBC Serial Link 

25.00 

28.75 

ARCHIMEDES/BBC TELETEXT/TV ADAPTER 

SCML Teletext/TV Adapter 
• ARCHIMEDES SOFTWARE: 

69.52 

79.95 

Ansi C 

99.00 

113.85 

ISO-Pascal 

99.00 

113.85 

MSDOS Emulation 

99.00 

113.85 

Logistix 

99.00 

113.85 

Minerva Dcltabase 

26.04 

29.95 

Minerva System Delta Plus 

60.83 

69.95 

Clares Artisan 

34.74 

39.95 

Clares Graphic Writer 

26.04 

29.95 

Clares Toolkit Module 

* BBC MASTER SERIES: 

34.74 

39.95 

Master 128 

379.00 

435.85 

Master Turbo Module 

108.70 

125 00 


MASTER 512 UPGRADE 
SPECIAL OFFER 

£219.00 

Price include* VAT. 

This offer include*: FREE MICROMAN 512 DtfC 
UTILITIES SOFTWARE WORTH l 




£239.00 
Ex VAT 


CAMBRIDGE 

Z88 COMPUTER 


£274.88 
Inc VAT 


> ECO NET NETWORKS: 

Achemedcs/Master Econet Module 
Filestore KOI 
Filestore K20 


43.47 49.99 

828.00 952.20 

721.00 829.15 


AHKTER MITSUBISHI E „ 

Inc 

DRIVE 

VAT 

VAT 

Single 5.25” 400K 40/80T 

99.96 

114.95 

Single 5.25” 400K 40'80T + PSU 

113.00 

129.95 

Dual 5.25” 800K 40/80T 

191.26 

219.95 

Dual 5.25” 800K 40/80T + PSU 

217.35 

249.95 

Single 3.5” 400K 

86.91 

99.95 

Single 3.5” 400K + PSU 

104.30 

119.95 


Ex VAT Inc VAT 


* BBC MONITORS: 

Microvitec 1431 Std/Metal 
Microvitec 1451 Med/Mctal 
Philips CM8833 Mcd/RGB'CV 
Philips Green 7502 
Philips Amber 7522 
Philips White 7542 

* BBC DISC INTERFACES/ 
UPGRADES: 

Acorn 1770 Disc Interface 
Acorn ADFS ROM 
Watford 8271 Disc Interlace 

► BBC B CO-PROCESSOR 
ADAPTERS: 

Acorn Co-Pro Adapter 
Watford Co- Pro Adapter 

* BBC B ROM BOARDS: 

Watford Solderless ROM Board 
Watford Battery' Backup 
Aries B12 Sideways ROM Board 
Aries B 1 2c Adapter 
ATPI. Sidewise ROM Board 

• BBC B SIDEWAYS ROM/RAM 
EXPANSION: 

Watford ROM/RAM Card + 32K 
Watford ROM/ RAM Card 64 K 
Watford ROM/RAM Card + I28K 
Watford Sideways ZIF Socket 

• BBC B SHADOW BOARDS: 

Watford 32K Shadow RAM Board 
Aries B32 RAM Extension Board 


Control Telemetry EPROM Prog 
Multiprom Programmer 
Uviprom & Multiprom programmers i 
or ROM software listed below. 
Uviprom ROM Software 
Uviprom SWR Disc Software 
Uvipac EPROM Eraser + Timer 

• EPROMS/RAM CHIPS: 

Eproms 2764 8K 
Eproms 27128 I6K 
Eproms 27256 < 1 2.5v> 

Eproms 27512 

RAM 62641. P-15 8K 

• BBC MODEMS. 

Pace Linnet + Commstar II 
Pace Nightingale + Commstar II 
Watford Apollo Modem 

• BBC SPECIAL KEYBOARDS: 

Concept Keyboard A4 
Concept Keyboard A3 

• BBC VIDEO DIGITISERS. 

Watford BEEB Video Digitiser 
Watford Magazine Maker 

• BBC MOUSE/TRACKERBALL 

Watford Quest Mouse 
Watford Quest Mouse + Paint 
AMX Mouse + Super Art Mark II 
AMX Mouse Mat 
AMX Pagemaker 
AMX Extra Extra < Pagemaker ) 
AMX Super An ROM BBC. B 
AMX Super Art: Master 
AMX MAX 
Fleet Street Editor 
Trackerball RB2 + ICON Soft 
Trackerball + Pointer < Master i 

• RBC CAD SYSTEMS* 

Viglen Console 


199.13 229.00 

240.00 276.00 

250.00 287.50 


73.91 

85.00 

77.39 

89.00 

77.39 

89.00 

43 44 

49 95 

26 08 

29.99 

60 00 

69.00 

75.00 

86.25 

35.00 

40.25 

32.00 

36 80 

3.00 

3.45 

40.00 

46.00 

5.00 

5.75 

38.00 

43.70 

39. (K) 

44.85 

52 00 

59 80 

80.00 

92.00 

15.00 

17.25 

59 00 

67.85 

80.00 

92.00 

IS ERASERS 

95.00 

109.25 

39.09 

44.95 

juire cither SWR 

4.35 

5.00 

1.74. 

2.00 

22.57 

25.95 

POA 

POA 

POA 

POA 

POA 

POA 

POA 

POA 

POA 

POA 

139 00 

159.85 

86.09 

99.00 

81.00 

96.60 

109.50 

125.93 

139 50 

160.43 

109.00 

125.35 

129.00 

148.35 

30.00 

34.50 

59.00 

67.85 

69.52 

79.95 

5.00 

5,75 

43.44 

49.95 

21.70 

24.95 

43.44 

49.95 

43.44 

49 95 

17.35 

19.95 

34 74 

39.95 

59.00 

67.85 

59.00 

67.85 

43.44 

49.95 


Viglen Master Console 
Pineapple II 

■ BBC/MASTER CONSOLE 

Pineapple Diagram 
Pineapple Diagram Utilities 
Pineapple PCB Designer 
AMX DESIGN 

• PRINTERS: 


Ex VAT Inc VAT 

52.13 

59.95 

55.00 

63.25 

25.00 

28.75 

10.00 

11.50 

85. (K) 

97.75 

60.83 

69.95 


STAR LC10 

Inc Centronics interface + 2m BBC Lead 
Ex VAT Inc VAT 

£173.04 £199.00 

NEW STAR LC24-10 

24 pin printer 4 BBC lead 
Ex VAT Inc VAT 

£329.57 £379.00 

Star NX 15 Wide Carriage 339.00 389.85 

Panasonic KXP 1081 155.65 179.00 

Epson 1.X800 225. t22 259.00 

Juki 6100 Daisywheel 299.00 343.85 

Panasonic Serial Interface 41.00 47.15 

Star NL10 Sheet Feeder 55.00 63.25 

LX800 Sheet Feeder TBA 

Print Sharer 2 Way Switch 39.00 44.85 

• PLOTTERS: 

Roland DXY880A A3 Plotter 694.78 799.00 

Roland DXY980A A3 Hotter 999.00 1148 85 

We are a Roland Mam Dealer and stock the complete 
range of plotter, pens and paper. 

• BBC WORDPROCESSING 
SOFTWARE: 


View Professional 

86.91 

99.95 

Interword ROM 

42.61 

49. 0C 

Wordswise Plus ROM 

42.61 

49. 0C 

View 3.0 ROM 

45.22 

52jQ0 

Spellmaster 

51.31 

59 00 

Viewspell 

34.74 

39.95 

• BBC DATABASE & SPREADSHEETS 

Mega 3 ROM - New 

85.00 

97.75 

Master Overview 

86.00 

98.90 

Inter base ROM 

60.00 

69.00 

Viewstore ROM 

45.22 

52.00 

Intersheet ROM 

43.44 

49.95 

Interchart ROM 

29.52 

33.95 

Viewsheet ROM 

45 22 

52.00 

• BBC LANGUAGES: 



Master C 

78.00 

89 70 

BCPL ROM 

52. 00 

59.80 

BPCL Stand Alone Generator 

43 39 

49.90 

ISO Pascal ROM 

52.13 

59.95 

ISO Pascal Stand Alone Gen 

30.00 

34.50 

Comal ROM 

43 35 

49 85 

Acorn LOGO ROM 

60 00 

69.00 

Logoton LOGO ROM 

60.00 

69.00 

Micro- Prolog ROM 

69 52 

79 95 

• BBC UTILITIES: 



Master Termulator 

34.74 

39.95 

System ADE + BBC Version 

46.00 

52.90 

System ADE + Master Version 

49.00 

56.35 

Vine Replay ROM’s 

25.65 

29.50 

Vine Master Replav 

30.43 

35.00 


We slock a large range of utility software bv ACORN. 
CLARES, COMPUTER CONCEPTS, WATFORD etc. 

OPUS PC & 
AMSTRAD 1640 

Ring or cull for full price list 


GOVERNMENT, NHS AND EDUCATIONAL ORDERS ACCEPTED 






ADVENTURES 



WARLORD HINTS 

Q: I CAN’T OPEN THE SHUTTERED WINDOW 
H: M>GG ! MAE4=MN2=F?1 * 

A: M4= [72E6KHI787Y-L/A5I 244= [$K0CN72C0# 



Q: I GOT EATEN BY A GIANT RAT 
H: R6FK(9U/[4;Q4-J: [ 96F=N#E9M5BN\ 

A: =K?Y-L/A5IR44=[4>/O*&0E7§T44=[72I3* 


Q: HOW CAN I GET INTO THE LEFT HAND BEDROOM? 
H: M4= [ -BDAL/3T3FF>M7 *XV 
A: R6FK. 7@?\3<>8[+:T:\ 



Q: WHERE CAN I GET A. ROPE? 

H: :MR)EF1MAA1G@5QN4>/CEE9Y0?DA[ 
A: ?L=>S44=[ 'R7C6<N\ 


Q: HOW DO I GET OUT OF THE BANDIT'S CAVE 
H: =K?Y-L&IC5>OL)KS,M96F=N, I .HNG$=XV 
A: AQ7>AE5 J2 [ 44= [ ' N , Q2*23D2E9ZN 



Q: I CAN'T LIGHT THE LAMP 
H: =E;\96FK&IC5>0L3O804AE980 
A: R6FK.7@?\3<>8[-4S/E=N\ 


Q: I SEEM TO BE AN INEXPERIENCED ROCK CLIMBER 
H: N>2 [ 3B4K-AJ9 [ %LD4G=8IF[ 

A: :__2=A5 [78F78\"C[ 5>2A07# 



Q: WHERE CAN I GET A TAG? 

H: ?L=>S44= [ 32>R=7KEG/7@C : B* 

A: BEE=5>QL44=[$AN8!444=IR/A5I 00A 


Q: I CAN'T READ THE SCRAP OF PAPER 
H: : 4>7 : HU/7Z , 9J73Q2K 
A: K3<C\)KL)ER44=[-<I0=C] 



Q: A DRY GREY POWDER WON'T BURN FOR ME 
H: BKL-OALL) = Z)KL7*RM7.0[ 

A: I?F=N72E7[ )EF;Q44=[ ,5LC_ 


Q: I HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF THEFT AND ESCORTED OUT OF THE 
H: M>GG44=["CNAL0?==:VV 

A: R6FK-H>AL01XG&ICN44AE9LM)ER44= [ -4Q9 : 0[ 

CITY 

Q: I JUST HIT THE BOTTOM OF A BOTTOMLESS 
H: EC@<U71=M3 [96FK ! Q3 [ ' H : E9 ( 

A: E=>ALL44=[ , 5LCP ! M6\4-J : [ )KL72K4X96FZ 

PIT 

Q: THE GUARD WON'T LET ME GO DOWN THE BACK STAIRS 
H: R6FK , C0<U-H . EX4 ; 0Q3 : 4QB[ 

A: M-J : [/70Z44=[2=3C[/CN44=[72> ( 


Q: WHAT DO I DO WITH A HOVERCYCLE? 
H: R6FK#LF78\OB301I6\ ) KS , M ! _( GCA2* 
A: FBF9FL44= [44AE9%4/CN ' >OL/?R)K[ 

• 

Q: I GET ACCUSED OF BEING A POISONER 
H: R6FK35GF78 JY-L7 *M6AMN ! Q=F96+ 

A: 0HQ3A>/H>ALL"?BHU$KH7R44=[3A-HIA\ 



Q: I TURN GREEN AND KEEL OVER SUDDENLY 
H: R6FK35GF78\!U9: ;\449SL&IC3D>GR&I@5+ 
A: ?I0=T44=[+>E9' 2$K?Y-L%<S [ 


Q: WHERE CAN I GET AN INVITATION? 

H: BER44= [-< ; 0H9 [/7Z44=f "?S@89AC<G8+ 
A: ?L=>S44= [+>E9 ,M"JC05CN,Q2+ 



Q: HOW CAN I HELP TIM TREVYL? HE IS UPSET 
H: L< >8=M5UG3A; =9 [ ( AJM7*S/E ' 

A: M4=[#BIF-T=N72C0T32G0T96FK(AJM7*S/E' 

AND CONFUSED 

Q: I CAN'T FIND A WAY OFF THE BATTLEFIELD 
H: M4=M3[)JM! 7*XU2+ : @KP , C0< >E9 ( 

A: ?CE6\44=[ 2=2C\ !M6\&I=0CHI ) KL . ACB4 ' 



Q: I GET CAUGHT BY A SECURITY ANDROID 
H: ; C [ -BC3 [ # >Q3A07 # 

A : =K?Y-L27E9Y44= [ "CG0T/CN ' HQ% <RA[ 


Q: I GOT SCRAPED OFF A WALL AND THROWN IN THE 
H: :U9: ;\/70?I6EE9Y44= [ ,C4>KG\ 

A: ; SDG ! _$N7E=UM396FR%0T . 7@?\3<>8 [-B77TV 

DUNGEON 


Q: I GET KILLED GOING UP THE RAPIDS 
H : M>GG44 = [ "CO01MNO1QBL/7Z6 + KCF= ] 

A: M49SL ) JM . AEL44= [ 7 *XG4 ; Q44= [ 2/U3E7* 


Q: I CAN'T GET SOMETHING SCREWED TO A DESK 
H: BKL) JMO7D069J9* 

A: R6FK . 70?\ ! _3003R-N7M/M] 



Q: I GET SHOT WHEN I LEAVE THE CUBIX 
H: R6FK-H>AL45D8[)KL27>AL[ 

A: N>2 [44= [ 63<R2E9Y3003§I ! 


Q: I CAN'T GET ACROSS THE RIVER 
H: M>GG7*K?>E9YM3/CN27 ;EE9Y(A>A' 
A: ?CE6\44=["P7;C>* 



Q: I GET LOST IN THE LIBRARY 
H: R6FK . 70?\ ! R06JA-M5B* 

A: 0>OL44= [ "CG0T ! M6\27E9Y ) K [ 


Q: I CAN'T GET OUT OF THE RAVINE 
H: FBC3 [ %LD4G=8IFL . 7@?A?+ 

A: P . <QN44= [3=1BB[ "M0E?\ 



Q: I THINK I NEED A HEXAGONAL KEY 
H: R6FK#LF78\-4 J : [ )K[ 

A: ?CE6\44=[ (=S)FH?3KT-BF78+ 


Q: THE KING IS OFFENDED BECAUSE I DON'T EAT 
H: A=[-OALL"C[&I@ = 9?\"WG! * ;NA1M] 

A: IB301I6\4;Q%<SL3O804AE9( 



Q: I HAVE BEEN DUMPED IN AN EMPTY TENT 
H: R6FK . 70?\3<>8O4AE9Y4 ;Q#R?L72K4 ' 

A: M-J: [ 44= [ "?X6?70L72K4X96FY25>2 [ )K[ 


Q: IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET OUT OF THE DUNGEON? 
H: M4=M3[ )JM/?>MG/?7[/3H;>QL0B3N2IF[ 

A: R,N[20E>5X44=[4-AJ9* 



Q: I GET TORN LIMB FROM LIMB BY A HUNTING 
H: BKL-H>AL"C[6/MGG(M99KGV 
A: M4J=HI$KH7R!_#L0< : ?\2/SL&ICN )K[ 

EAGLE 

Q: I INCINERATED THE CITY ACCIDENTALLY 
H: R6FK35GF78\/3CTG)EEA>C.Q5F?E\ 

A: =K?Y-LOE70T44= [ , 9Q/M] 



Q: I ONLY FLOAT IN THE RAVINE 
H: R6FK(9U/[! ' K/U3KEG0B=3 J9HS ! F :HE ! 
A: R6FK ! Q3 [ # >Q0GOE9Y ( = <UCG/3H ; >Q?\ 


Q: I GOT A BLACK EYE AND A NOSE BLEED 
H: ? ;HEFL( =<QBL . 7Q/MN787R& ; HI\00A 
A: I5MA6JAZ2 ( AKL44= [ 2C10C8MR ! F : HE ! 



Q: I GET CRYOGENICALLY FROZEN 
H: =K?Y-L4>7>0>MN44=[32>R=7KEG3O>M! 
A: R6FK.70?\! 32>R=7KEG4-F( 


Q: I THINK I GOT DRUNK ON THE BEAUJOLAIS 
H: M4=M3[ ! Q3 [ "CO01MN5 >2NM&ICN ! K7L9G=# 

A: =K?Y-L$N7E=U44= [72E7 )296FK.7@?\)K[ 



Q: I KEEP SETTING THE BENCH ON FIRE ACCIDENTALLY 
H: K3<C\44=[ )EEA>C.Q5F?E\ 

A: BEE=5>QL44= [#OC . F9J9* 

Q: WHAT DO I DO WITH THE METAL DISC? 
H: BKL78F78\&CKL)EF;Q! 3<4H:0[ 

A: ?0>2[44=[ ,=>AL?M72K4X)K[ 



Q: TIM TREVYL JUST HOLDS OUT HIS HAND FOR 
H: R6FK7 2C0T*K>AL( 9U/ [ 4 ; Q ' >OL ) KL&ICN (AD" 
A: M>GG44=[ ,=9P/QGV 

A BOOK 

Q: I CAN'T READ THE SCROLL 
H: M4=M3[)JM/?7[72J2MN449MR96FZ 
A: M-J: [)KL4;Q45DS4>3QC3# 



Q: THE LAMP SEEMS TO GO OUT SUDDENLY 
H: R6FR%0T( 9U/ [4 ; Q0<5MR ! G = <C+ 

A: N>2[ )KL71AC9[ )KL, 5RA?\ 


Q: I JUST GOT KNOCKED TO THE FLOOR AND JUMPED 
H: ;C[#>Q3A07T71G>S96FK! S0-BH$ 

A: AAKL44=[2C10C8MR"S?L.AQ/?7 [%GG2* 

ON 


Q: THE SCREEN SHOWS ONLY SWIRLING MIST 
H: R6FK ! Q3 [ ’ >O05E9Y ! G= <C\/7Z96F=A2G : ) 

A: R6FK$K?Y-L. 70?\44= [3OO30IR45C0T, 5 SIM] 


Q: A TREE FALLS ON TOP OF ME 
H: ;S?L)KL#LF78\(9U/["C0IR! 2=4H$ 

A: M5<[44=[2=A5[4;Q!_2=4H! 4 . AEL44= [4>3@* 



Q: I HAVE FOUND THE CUBIX BUT IT'S LOCKED 
H: M5DS4 > 3QC3T+ : 0KCM ) KL ,C4H:?\5>B, K0MV 
A: 0HQ4 ; Q44 = [ #FKE"%44 = IR5 >2[44 = [2/CEF 


Q: I TRY TURNING MY VEHICLE, WITH DISASTROUS RESULTS 
H: P1A : EX7*XG$E; \44GD2 [ 'N,Q2OM'H00 
A: 0HQ%<RAZ24>C>AL44= [ ! T? ; A9CCE [ 


Q: I SEEM TO HAVE DUG MY OWN GRAVE AND FALLEN IN 
H: P8F78\96FK0B3A?MN3<>8J?7 [%GG2 [ )ER)K+0 
A: CK8CP"?BHL*Q20M/G/MN44= [ (G=9* 

Q: THE BANDITS DON'T GIVE ME ANY KEYS 
H: G7Q/MN"C [&L7 < 1 6HMG7 2K4X44A<Q/N\ 

A: =K?Y-L35GHU4 ' BM/ ' 4/CN/A5 IR44= [ , C4H : 0 [ 



Q: WE GOT ARRESTED BY THE SOLDIERS NEAR THE BRIDGE 
H: M4=N2 [ &L31 5EX# >MR"C[ % <R6CMG&I0 = 9? + 

A: L = 5 < JU&L31 5EX4 ; Q44=H ! 244 = IR ' HQ . ACB4 ’ 

Q: I JUST GOT ELECTROCUTED 

H: L . E70EG&CIAAZ2 ) KS , M"WG44= [ $K@C 1 

A: LD2K/EX/70Z44= [ , = >AL[ 



Q: MY BATTERIES HAVE RUN OUT 
H: AGHI . 7BE9>Q207T/7Z96FZ 
A: =K?Y-L,9<U/[44=[2/CEFQ3D2K/E=?\/? ! 


Q: I GET SOLD A COMPUTER I DON’T WANT 
H: ;C[-BC3 [#>Q3A07T ! AMF?L719SL96FK"SDV 
A: BEE=5>QL44=[7*S/E=NM&CIAA[ 



Q: I CAN'T USE THE SCREEN 
H: BKL( 9RM f #LG/MN/G/MN ) K [ 
A: R6FK-H>AL/A5IR ) KL&CIAA [ 



ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


69 


smBHEOGL 


POQyWTNNFP 

THE ULTIMATE POOLS PREDICTION PROGRAM ” ^ 

MASSIVE DATABASE Poo Is winner is a sophisticated Pools 
prediction aid. It comes complete with the largest database 
available - 22000 matches over 10 years. 

PREDICTS Not just SCOREDRAWS, but AW AYS, HOMES 
and NO SCORES. 

SUCCESSFUL SELEC guarantee that Poolswinner performs 
significantly better than chance. 

ADAPTABLE Probabilities are given on every fixture - 
choose as many selections as you need for your bet. The 
precise prediction formula can be set by the user - you can 
develop and test your own unique method. 

SIMPLE DATA ENTRY All team names are in the program. Simply type in the reference 
numbers from the screen. Or use FDCGEN to produce fixture list automatically (see below). 
LEAGUE AND NON-LEAGUE All English and Scottish League teams are supported, 
and also the non-league sides often used on pools coupons. 

PRINTER SUPPORT Full hard copy printout of data if you have a printer. 

PRICE £18.00 (all inclusive) 






FIXGEN88/9 


AT LAST: No more struggling for hours to get the 
fixture list into the computer. FDCGEN has been 
programmed with all English and Scottish Leaguo 
fixtures for 1988/89. Simply type in the date, and the full fixture list is generated 
in seconds. Fully compatible with Poolswinner. Yearly updates available. 
POOLSWINNER with FIXGEN £19.50 (for both) 


COURSE WINNER V3 


NOT JUST A TIPSTER 
PROGRAM, Coursewinner 

V3 can be used by experts 

THE PUNTERS COMPUTER PROGRAM and occasional punters alike. 
You can develop and test your own unique winning system by adjusting the 
analysis formula, or use the program in simple mode. Coursewinner V3 uses 
statistical analysis of major factors including past form, speed ratings, course 
statistics, prize money, weight, going, trainer and jockey form etc, etc. It 
outputs most likely winners, good long odds bets, forecasts, tricasts etc. The 
database includes vital course statistics for all British courses. You can update 
the database - never goes out of date. FULL PRINTER SUPPORT. 

PRICE £18.00 (all inclusive) includes Hat AND National Hunt versions. 


AVAILABLE FOR 

All supplied on tape ... 


AMSTRAD CPCs 
BBCs 

(Automatic Conversion to disc) sp° ctriim RE 64/128 


AMSTRAD PCW 
DISCS ... KM Format 

COMMODORE AMIGA 
(Add £3.00) atari st 


Send ChequesTOs for 
return of post service to . 


SORAVARH P hone 24 h*s 

62 ALTRINCHAM RD, CATLEY, CHEADLE, CHESHIRE SK8 4DP. 0 061-428 7425 

( Send for full list of our software) 


o DUST o 
COVERS 


PROFESSIONAL 
COVERS FOR THE 
BBC MICRO RANGE 


o DUST O 
COVERS 


DIRECT FROM THE LEADING MANUFACTURER 

Tailored from the best quality ivory coloured nylon that has been 
coated with polyurathane to which an anti-static inhibitor has been 
added. These fabric covers are tastefully finished with brown piping 
and have the model name hot foil printed over the keyboard. They 
are washable and can be ironed with a cool iron. 


id 


ARCHIMEDES: £9. 


BBC COMPACT SET £9.00 

(Please state whether colour or monochrome monitor). 

BBC MASTER £5.00 

BBC B/B+ £5.00 

MATCHING COVERS FOR PRINTERS, 
MONITORS AND DISC DRIVERS 
A large range of covers for printers, monitors and disc drives are 
available to match the computer covers. 

PRINTERS COVERS FROM £5.00 

MONITOR COVERS FROM £6.00 

DISC DRIVE COVERS FROM £3.00 

If you have a specific requirement please do not hesitate to 
contact us as we will be delighted to help. 

Prices include VAT and First Class Postage. All our covers are 
unconditionally guaranteed. Please make cheques out to: 

BBD Computer Dust Covers 
The Standish Centre 
Cross Street 

Standish, Wigan WN6 0HQ 


mats 

VISA 


Callers and Dealer inquiries welcome 

TEL: 0257422968 FAX: 0257 423909 


a 

C/3 


T3 

09 


S3 


Basic Mono 

Colour 

Epson Q03500 laser £1692.60 

No PSO Drives 


Di3cma3tor 

£13. SOU 

A305 803.84 861.34 

1033.05 

This advert is printed on the 

Ahkter 40/00 400K Single £118.95 

Teletext Tape 

£4.02U 

A310 091.25 948.75 

1121.25 

GQ3500. we offer a special help 

Ahkter 40/80 800K Dual 

£229.44 

Master File II D13C 

£11.50U 

A310M 960.25 1017.75 

1190.25 

line on the QQ3500 with custom 

Cumana CSX400 Single 

£138.54 

Pr Intwise Oise 

E14.95U 

A410 1608.85 1666.35 

1030.05 

software soon ! ! ! 


Q/nana COX BOOS Dual 

£256.45 

Quickcalc Disc 

£11 .50U 

A440 2643.85 2701.35 

2073.05 



Pace PSD3 Single 

£137.13 



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Pace PDD3 Dual 

£254.86 

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WITH EVERY ARCHIMEDES FREE ! ! 



Opus Single 40T 

E51.75U 

Beebug Soft all Discounted 

Graphic Writer, Artisan & /arch 

ACP .25meg RAM Cartridge 

£74.34 

Acorn Single 40T 

£46.00U 




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ACP Battery backed RAM 

£37.17 







ACP RCM Adapter 2 

£13.90 

With PSO Drives 




Full range of Archimedes podules 

AT PL Sideways RCM Board 

£41.50 

Ahkter 40/80 400K Single £131.69 

Alpha Base (Archimedes) 

£44.94 

etc etc stocked - ring For price 

ATPL Mouse 

£32.70 

Ahkter 40/80 800K Dual 

£276.20 

Artisan (Archimedes) 

£35.95 

•Master Series from £351.86 

Cambridge Z88 32K RAM 

£10.95 

Cumana CS400 Single 

£161.95 

Toolkit (Archimedes) 

£35.95 

•Compact series from £375.69 

Cambr idge Z80 32K RCM 

£18.95 

Cumana CD800S Dual 

£305.94 

Beta Base & Utils 

E17.25U 

•Compact Professional :- 

Cambridge Z88 120K RAM 

£47.43 

Pace PS03P Single 

£161.71 

Mac r cm 

£17.25U 

Computer, Moni tor .Brother Daisy 

Cambridge Z80 128K RCM 

£47.43 

Pace PD03P Dual 

£302 . 73 

Fontwise 5.25” package 

£26.99 

Wheel & OverView from £709 03 

Cambridge Eprcm Eraser 

£37.95 



Fontwiso 3.5" package 

£30.59 

Special Cambridge Z88 £267.37 

Morley AA Board 

£43.64 

Hard Oise Units 




Sec/User BBC Bs from £199.00 

Morley RAM Disc 1 Meg 

£109.92 

Ahkter 2Gmeg HD2000 

£539.94 



6502 Sec Processors 

£103. 50U 

Mcrloy RAM Disc 2 Meg 

£332.41 

Ahkter 40meg H04000 

£809.94 



Master 512 Module 

£149. 50U 

Morley Teletext Adaptor 

£107.95 

VI glen 20meg Drive 0 

£584.07 

Inter-Base 

£55.20 



Pace Linnet Modem inc Commstar 

Viglen 20mcg Drive 1 

£494.09 

Inter-Chart 

£29.44 



Cornra RCM 

£143.86 

Viglen 40meg Drive 0 

£940.49 

Inter-Sheet 

£45.00 



°ace Nightingale Modem 

£102.46 

Viglen 40mcg Drive 1 

£737.08 

Inter-Word 

£45.08 

Philips 0033 colour 

£275.02 

Philips TV tuner 

£62.93 



Inter-Chart (Archimedes) 

£23.00 

Philips 0052 colour 

£309.46 

Vine Micros RCM Board 3 

£17.94 



Inter-Sheet (Archimedes) 

£35.88 

Philips 7502 Green 

£83.65 

Vine Micros ROM Board 4 

£26.94 



Inter-Word (Archimedes) 

£35.88 

Microvitec 1431 

£211.64 

Voltmace Delta 14B 

£9. 20U 

Basic Editor 

£18.00U 

Mega 3 ROM 

£07.97 

Microvitec 1451 £109. 75U 

Acorn Master Cartridge 

£9.200 

C language 

£51. 75U 

Spell Master 

F47.19 

Microvitec 1441 

£430.10 

Peartree Mast Cart PEP002 C9.20U 

Education Compendium 

£11.96 

Wordwise Plu3 

£30.000 

Kaga Taxan Sup/v III 

£395.98 

Prism 200 Modem 

£40.250 

Logo 

£39.0OU 

ARM Ass Lang Book 

£11.65 

Microvitec 1431 £149. 50U 

Solidisk Teletext/TV 

£75.94 

ISO Pascal RCM 

£55.20 

RCM podule Arch Bat. 'Back 

£64.44 

Tatung Col Monitor 

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Li3p 

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£102.46 







Micros in Business 

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AMX Design 

£6*2.98 

Twin (Archimedes) 

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Master Guide Book 

£11.65 

Panasonic KX P1O01 

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AMX Mouse * Super a rt+OS 

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View 3.0 

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Views toro/Sheet Book 

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AMX Superart 

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View Index 

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View Guide Book 

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Citizen 120D 

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AMX Max 

E12.00U 

View Plot 

£23.95 

Master Emulator RCM 

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Epson LX000 

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AMX Desk 

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View Professional 

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Program Discs for books 

£7.14 

Epson LQ0OO 

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Extra Extra! 

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View Sheet 

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Hyper Driver 

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Micro P 135f 

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View Spell 

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Replay Tape to Disc 

£31.40 

Digi mouse* Art room 

£53.91 

Mini Office disc 5.25 

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Romboard 3 

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D i g i mouse+Graphi c 

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Mini Office disc 3.5 

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Wight Signwriter 

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Ftamboard 4 

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0iglmouse*ll lustrator 

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Fonts for above each 

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TD RCM for BBC B 

£13.800 


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Items Marked "U" are used stork 


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System Dolta+Card Index £50.45 
Deltabase (Archimedes) £26.94 
System Delia Plus (Arch) £62.95 
Accounts Packages all 10% Disc. 


Genie In a Box £71.41 
Genie Junior £22.49 
Genie Master Cartridge £71.41 
Genie Util 1 ties £8.94 
Genic Real Time Clock £26.08 


6502C B2P Sec Processor £80.95 

Introducing three titles under 
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Introductory Price £14.95 each 

ThcMenu 

Displays both sides of a disc on 
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file was and where it is: ADFS 
path route shown and routing 
made easy: Printout of all data 
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ThoLabo 1 

The ultimate Label printer, 

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70 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 






COMPETITION 

LOVABLE LIZARDS 

We have a cuddly life-size Repton to give away this month 
along with games from the Superior catalogue 



Repton the lizard, star of the original 
Repton game by Tim Tyler, has spawned 
no less than five follow-ups. The mix of 
problem-solving exploration and amusing 
scrolling graphics has attracted BBC micro 
users like no other game. 

Now publisher Superior Software is 
offering little Repton soft toys to con- 
firmed fans. But Acorn User has a unique 
five-foot-high cuddly Repton to give away. 
Plus the winner will get his or her choice 
of any three games from the Superior 
Software’s BBC and Electron game cata- 
logue. The 30 runners-up will also receive 
their choice of any of the Superior games. 

ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


All you have to do to enter the competi- 
tion is look at the nine screens above. For 
each character or object, numbered 1 to 9, 
identify which of the Repton games it 
comes from. Use the letters A to F as 
follows: 

A Repton 
B Repton 2 
C Repton 3 

D Around the World in 40 Screens 
E The Life oj Repton 
F Repton thru Time 

As a tie-breaker, we want you to think up 
an idea for a new set of screens for Repton. 
Describe your idea in less than 40 words, 


and devise a suitably imaginative title. 

Write your answers on the back of an 
envelope and place your tie-breaker idea 
and your name and address inside. Also 
stick the coupon below to your entry — it 
can’t be accepted without it. Send it to 
Acorn User Repton Competition, Redwood 
Publishing, 20-26 Brunswick Place, Lon- 
don N1 6DJ. Your entry must arrive by 
September 5, and the editor’s decision will 
be final. 


ACORN USER 
COMPETITION 
AUGUST 


n 

I 

j 


71 







GRAPHICS 


BUY A 

YELLOW RIBBON 

How can you create beautiful colour prints with a black-and-white printer? 

Coloured ribbons provide the answer 

Muriel Dearlove 


I t's fine having beautiful, animated 
graphic screens that you can show off to 
your friends, but what I want is some- 
thing I can put in my pocket, and I am 
not in the habit of carrying my BBC 
micro and colour monitor around with me! I 
also want to make greeting cards that will fit 
into an ordinary envelope. I'm willing to 
compromise on the animation, but I want 
them in colour! 

So what do I do? I could use a colour 
printer, of course, but first I have to find one I 
can afford and that I have space for. And one 
on which I can control the colours to just the 
way I want them. 

The answer is to print in colour using my 
ordinary black-and-white dot-matrix printer. 
In the April issue of Acorn User , Dorian 
Goring suggested using coloured carbon pap- 
er for multi-colour printing. This gives very 
clear results, but almost inevitably limits you 
to using only black, red and blue. 

But for most Epsons, and many other 
models of printer, a range of coloured ribbons 
is available, and by overlaying colours in an 
imitation of the three-or-four-colour printing 
method used to print magazines like Acorn 
User , quite passable results can be achieved. 
What's more, you aren't limited to the 
standard two or four colours available on the 
screen in a high-resolution mode. Several 
firms provide coloured ribbons, in particular, 
Micro-Media supplies red, blue, yellow, 
brown and green ribbons which are suitable 
for a wide range of printers. 

The technique, similar to that described by 
Dorian Goring, can be either simple or 
complex, according to the standard of output 
you need. 

Before overprinting each of the colours, 
accuracy in positioning the paper is vital. This 



Figure 1. How a multi-colour print is built from 
a skeleton drawing 


avoids colour fringing. But the actual colours 
used and the mixture of colours are under 
your control. 

The mixing of colours from coloured 
ribbons works in exactly the same way as 
colour printing. Acorn User is printed using 
four-colour inks - yellow, cyan (light blue), 
magenta (pink) and black. If the paper is 
printed with cyan and yellow, then the result 
is green; cyan and magenta make blue; and 
magenta and yellow make red. Because the 
ribbons are red and blue rather than the 
necessary magenta and cyan, they tend to give 
slightly deeper colours than true four-colour 
printing. But as the ribbons wear out after a 
while, and the colours fade, you may find 
your results improve. 

To try out the method, almost any drawing 
software will do. I regularly use AMX 
SuperArt y with a Wigmore mouse, and more 
recently the excellent Quest Paint from Wat- 
ford, but, of course, one of your own 
programs will do just as well. 

The first step is to put together a design or 
drawing in black on a white background, then 
save this skeleton picture in a file called, say, 
‘Black’. It is unlikely that you will ever need 
to print this picture, but it will act as a base for 
drawing the blue, yellow and red screens of 
the final colour picture. Figure 1 shows an 
example of a simple design using rectangles 
and ellipses. 

SuperArt uses a very short ‘grey scale’ — 
only black, white and two intermediate shades 
of grey are available. The colour the screen 
shows is irrelevant for the greys; what is 
printed is always one light grey and one dark 
grey. But I find that setting the screen to red 
for the light grey and green for the dark grey 
makes it easy to see what is going on. This 
means that you can have up to three shades ol 

ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


72 




GRAPHICS 



pure blue in the final colour print — a fully 
saturated blue when you use black on the 
screen, plus a faint and an intermediate blue 
when you use the two greys on screen. 

The idea is to work on the black screen, 
which is always reloaded in preparation for 
each colour. First you must modify the 
skeleton to produce a screen for the blue 
ribbon, saving that as ‘Blue’. Then load in the 
‘Black’ file again, and modify it for the red 
ribbon, remembering that if an area is marked 
to print on both the blue and red screens, then 
the final colour print will be a shade of violet, 
tending towards blue as the ribbons fade. The 
violet or blue can be light or dark, depending 
on whether you have used a dark or light fill 
pattern on screen. Save the ‘Red’ file, reload 
the black screen, and do the same again for the 
yellow ribbon. Yellow overprinted with red 
will either give orange, or a shade of red with a 
worn ribbon. 

Having saved all three coloured screens, 
you are now ready to do the printing. First, fit 
the blue ribbon and prepare the paper. 
Remember you have to set the paper at 
exactly the same point at least twice more, in 
order to get accurate registration. To do this 
easily, I print a row of ‘=’ signs across the 
paper, and find these simple to align with the 
printer’s tear bar before overprinting with 
each ribbon. Alternatively, you could draw a 
pencil line along the top of the paper bail, and 
go back to that. 

Once the paper is set up, load and print the 
blue screen using your usual screen dump. 
Then load in the red screen, change the 
ribbon, reset the paper to the original mark, 
and print again. Do the same with the yellow 
screen and ribbon. You now have the finished 
pattern, in violet and two shades of orange, 
with a pale green border. 

The outline is a passable black where all 
three colours are overprinted. If you need a 
really dark black, it can be worthwhile 
printing a fourth pass with the printer fitted 
with its usual black ribbon. This then exactly 
mimics the four-colour printing process used 
to print magazines like Acorn User. Of course 
you can use the skeleton screen to prepare the 
image for this top. The order in which you 
ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


Figure 2. All these stunning pictures were output on a black-and-white printer by an overprint 
technique using combinations of coloured ribbons 


print the colours doesn’t appear to be too 
important, but I use yellow last because it is a 
weak colour and can be overpowered by the 
stronger ones. But this makes the ribbon 
dirty, as the other colours rub off the paper a 
bit. Real printing presses print the black ink 
first, then blue and red overlay it, followed by 
the yellow. Essentially this is the darkest ink 
first, progressing to the palest. 

The illustrations in Figure 2 show some of 
the pictures I have drawn and printed using 


the multi-ribbon method. I’ve produced lots 
of birthday and Christmas cards this way too. 
Try it — it does need some time and patience, 
but it doesn’t need too much artistic talent, 

thank goodness. 

Coloured ribbons can be obtained from 
Micro-Media, Freepost, Rydal Mount, Baker 
Street, Potters Bar, Herts EN6 3BR. Tel: 
(0707) 52698. Also, Computers by Post, 12 
Sutton Lane, Banstead, Surrey SM7 3QP. Tel: 
01-7600014. 

73 



£ 49.95 

Alpha-Base is thesuccessorto Beta-Base, the top 
selling database for the BBC micro. Alpha-Base really 
does 'HARNESS THE POWER’ of the Archimedes. 
As with all Clares products we have made Alpha- 
Base powerful but easy to use. You can be using a 
database within 5 minutes of receiving the 
program - that's easy. But don't be fooled, you do 
not lose any functions or power. Here are just some 
of the functions: 



* WIMP based using icons and mouse 

* Hard disc compatible - massive files 

* Free format screens with on line editing of field 
order 

* Upto 400 fields & 27600 chars per record 

* Upto 2.14 billion records per file !!! 

* Multiple display, entry and printer forms can be 
used with each file 

* Fast search by fields or record 

* Plain English entry of search & sort criteria with 
many inbuilt functions 

* Five data types including formulae 

* Calculation facilities with inbuilt min, max, 
average, age etc 

* Comprehensive print options inc labels 

* Validation on each field if required 

* Transfer fields from one file to another 

* Password security if required 

* Data stored on disc so computer failure will not 
result in loss of the data 

Ifyouwanta powerful database thatyou can boot 

up and run within 5 minutes then buy Alpha-Base 

now. Absolutely no programming skills required. 


£ 29.95 

Graphic Writer, formerly Image Writer, is a 
sophisticated WIMP based word processor with an 
inbuiltgraphicseditor.ltcanbeused asastandard 
word processor or graphics can be included to 
provide diagrams, graphs etc within your 
document. Graphics can even be imported from 
ARTISAN 



: ’Jii 



* Totally icon driven from menus 

* Multiple documents in memory, upto 512k 

* Super smooth scrolling 

* Fast search & replace 

* Justify centre etc 

* Text styles give plain, bold, Italic, underlined, 
subscript, superscript or combinations of these 
eg bold Italic underlined subscript. 

* Centered and Temporary text styles 

* Block operations - move, copy, delete and recall 

* Full WYSIWYG preview 
’ Graphics editor 

* Page format controls page length, headers, 
footers, pad and pound characters. 

’Page Composition allows placing of graphics, mini 
preview etc 

‘ Multiple print out options 
’ Auto page numbering even through multiple 
documents 

To create a document with Graphic Writer you 
type in your text, using the many text styles 
available, leave room for the graphics and then 
place the graphics using Page Composition. It's 
simple and easy to use You can have up to 14 
documents in memory on a 310, that's equivalent 
to about 220 pages of A4 text. 



98 Middlewich Rd 
Northwich 
Cheshire CW9 7DA 
Tel: 0606 48511 


ALL PRICES INCLUDE 
VAT and P+P 
OVERSEAS ORDERS 
ADD £4 


OONT FORGET, YOU CAN ORDER WITH ACCESS CARD TOO! 


See what the magazines say: 



Ule scml »ing is unbelievably smootl 
recommend this exertion 

micro USER April 1988 


excellent value... bowled over by its 
stunning use of graphics. 

RISC USER December 1987 J 




EDU CAT ION 

MICRO AS 
ALLY 

Teachers must impose standards to make proper use of 
the computers in their classrooms 



With the use of computers expanding in 
every walk of life it was inevitable that it 
should rapidly become part of the class- 
room. This isn’t part of an insidious tech- 
nological plot, but the result of the integra- 
tion of information technology into the 
activities of the ‘outside world’. 

The development of the use of computers 
in schools has not been painless. In the past, 
software which was inflicted upon an un- 
suspecting teaching community was often 
not what it might have been, in particular in 
its suitability for education and its reliabil- 
ity. There is many a disheartened teacher 
who has been scared off computers and 
information technology in the classroom 
for life by bad software and unreliable 
equipment. Basic principle number one: a 
computer is only as good as its software. 

Nowadays, both software and hardware 
have improved in many ways - generally 
because classroom teachers cried stop! One 
of the main reasons for using a computer is 
that it offers a number of fundamental 
‘tools’ which are of use to both pupils and 
teachers, irrespective of which subject is 
being learned or taught. These tools - 
wordprocessors, databases, graphics pack- 
ages and so on - are the real foundation of 
what the computer is all about. Familiarity 
with this type of software will generally 
guarantee that you get value out of your 
computer hardware. Packages like these are 
often called ‘framework’ software. So prin- 
ciple number two is: computer tools must 
be the foundation of any software library. 

Naturally there are schools, and you may 
be in one, where ‘the computer’ lurks 
somewhere in a cupboard, or where it has 
been appropriated by one member of staff - 
usually male - who considers that it is best 
used for ‘private study’ at home. The 
chances of integrating information techno- 
logy into the curriculum under these cir- 
cumstances are slim. 

The fact is that if you do see the computer 
as just another part of your arsenal of 
classroom resources, you will find a number 
of changes taking place. The computer 
motivates children like no other resource - 
except perhaps your own skill as a good 
teacher. Children enjoy using the computer 
because it is non-judgemental - except for a 
few detestable items of software which 
purport to teach by insult. Nor does the 
computer inhibit them, although experience 
suggests it may well inhibit adults at first. 

Groups of children around a computer 
develop a corporate mind, intent on solving 
the problem using the resource, and de- 
veloping the theme of the software to its full 

ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


potential. Also, the children almost certain- 
ly have a great deal of fun! It is unlikely to 
be quiet fun, so if you’re the kind of teacher 
who demands a peaceful working atmos- 
phere you will need to find a special area for 
working on the computer where it isn’t 
going to disturb the rest of the class. The 
noise won’t be due to disruptive behaviour, 
it will just be the language of discussion, 
enthusiasm and dynamic interaction. Basic 
principle number three: computers are 
liberating and not prescriptive. 

And what of yourself? The computer will 
change things for you. Your classroom can 
never be quite the same again after you have 


successfully used a computer in your work 
with children. You will discover that the 
machine can act as a third party in your 
classroom, engendering a new, triangular 
relationship between yourself, it and the 
children. This often develops into a true 
partnership, especially in situations where 
you are perhaps as much in the dark as the 
children. You approach the task that is 
demanded by the computer together. Does 
that sound threatening? Perhaps it might, 
yet many teachers have found that as a 
resource for stimulating learning, providing 
tools for the handling and production of 
information and for the creation of high- 


75 


OFFERS 

HYBRID MUSIC SYSTEM 



‘There is no comparable integrated music system for any micro. ’ Computer Guardian 


The Hybrid Music System is the most powerful and versatile 
microcomputer music system available. /4s an expansion of the 
BBC or Master micro the system includes: 

Ml The Music 5000 Synthesiser, a high-quality digital 
synthesiser unit with 16 sound channels, up to eight different 
instruments at once and full mixing with stereo control. 


The Hybrid Music System features: 

A digital keyboard synthesiser with 96 predefined sounds and 
an easy-to-use instrument design panel. 

A music production studio with pitched instruments, percussion 


Please send me: 

Hybrid Technology Music 5000 Synthesiser(s) at 

£161 all inclusive. Non-UK European readers add £9.30 (p&p), 
rest of world add £12. 

Hybrid Technology Music 5000 Synthesiser(s) with 

Music 4000 keyboard at £330 all inclusive. Non-UK European 
readers add £15.80 (p&p), rest of the world add £22.65. 

I enclose my cheque/postal order made payable to Hybrid 
Technology for £ 

name 

ADDRESS. 


POSTCODE 

Please send this coupon with your remittance to Music Offer, Acorn User 
Merchandising, Redwood Publishing Ltd, 20-26 Brunswick Place, 
London N1 6DJ. 


a The Music 4000 Keyboard, a high-quality four-octave 
keyboard with full size keys, steel case and footswitch, adding 
performance, multi-track recording and music entry to the 
Music 5000 synthesiser. 

a The AMPLE operating software, on ROM and 40/80-track 
disc with user and installation guides and function key strip. 


and sound effects in high-quality stereo. 

An eight-track digital recorder with overdubbing, pattern 
sequencing, live mixing, editing and print-out. 

The system can be used as: 

A music composition tool with comprehensive staff and text 
notations in a structured language environment. 

An educational music computer for creative use across the 
complete range of age, ability and application. 

A computer music workstation with integrated user interfaces 
and an extensible real-time programming language. 

A demonstration and research tool for a wide range of music 
and sound applications. 

By special arrangement with Hybrid Technology, all Acorn 
User readers buying the Music 5000 synthesiser will also 
receive four AMPLE albums (COSMIX, Ample Bytes Back, 
Music City and Inside Stories) worth over £17, totally free. Our 
readers who purchase the Music 5000 and 4000 will be sent the 
four AMPLE albums plus the AMPLE Nucleus Programmer 
Guide, worth £36, absolutely free. This offer is exclusive to 
Acorn User magazine. 

The Hybrid Music System is compatible with the BBC micro 
models B, B+, B+ (28k) and Master 128 with DFS compatible 
disc drive. Shadow RAM is used if available. 


76 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 



quality text and graphics, the computer has 
no parallel. Basic principle number four: the 
computer changes the nature of classroom 
interaction. 

Access to information and experiences 
can come to you through your computer. In 
the same way that you may read journals, 
attend in-service training or discuss with 
colleagues the methods by which you have 
tackled a particular topic, so the computer 
offers a means of transmitting other peo- 
ple’s experience into your classroom. This 
extra input can only enrich your lessons. 
For example, on-line systems such as 
NERIS (National Educational Resources 
Information Service) help you find informa- 
tion relating to countless topics. 

Don’t forget that the computer also 
provides a route by which you may want to 
circulate your ideas as well - software 
houses are always actively seeking out good 
practice and software provision is very 
much a two-way process. This discourse 
often takes place through information ser- 
vices that are ‘talked to’ by a computer. You 
may think that the idea of your classroom 
‘talking to’ another in Australia is a little 
far-fetched - the stuff of science fiction? It’s 
happening on a regular basis, in this coun- 
try, right now. You can be part of it. And 
it’s not just Australia; many parts of the 
world are linked by computer-based elec- 
tronic mail and information services that are 
attempting to break down the barriers of 
race and culture, and helping the ‘global 
village’ become a reality. If this seems like 
something that you should be sharing in, 
then you have the equipment, or most of it, 
in your school already. The largest hurdle is 
your self-confidence. Once over that there 
will be no stopping you! So principle 
number five is: computers bring the world 
of information to your doorstep. 

With your computer you can broaden the 
frontiers of what the classroom has to offer. 
But it is not just the toy in the corner with 
which you reward the fast workers. It is a 
device which extends the role of both the 
pupil and the teacher. 

With the right sort of software, the 
student becomes more of an active learner 
than a passive receptacle to be filled with 
knowledge. We are all aware that first-hand 
experience promotes learning much better 
than passive reception of information. 
Good software provides that experience, 
especially in areas which are difficult to 
experience directly. For example, geo- 
graphical software like Wagons West , from 
Tressel Publications, which we looked at in 
the February issue, enables students to 



experience life as a migrant in the wild west 
of 19th-century America. Moreover, it can 
help students organise information - it 
provides a learning tool which is com- 
plementary to the resource centre in your 
school. 

For the slow learner, the disabled student 
or indeed anyone with special physical or 
educational needs, the computer is a great 
releasing agent. It can provide a bridge over 
a child’s disability and a means of express- 
ion they otherwise lack. Basic principle 
number six is: computers change attitudes 
to both teaching and learning. 

Teachers may capitalise on all the points 
that apply to pupils as well. But if you feel 
that the computer has designs on your job, 
or indeed if you want it to take over, then 
you are crediting it with an ability it doesn’t 
have. A computer is not intelligent - and 
never will be in that sense, despite what may 
happen in science fiction stories. It may be 
an excellent actor, but it will never do more 
than pretend to think about a problem. 
Having said that, it can do mind-boggling 
calculations and operations in a fraction of 
the time taken by a human. But it is you, the 
teacher, who provides the intelligence, in 
the way that you integrate the computer, 
capitalise on it and make use of it for the 
good of the class. 

The computer is not intelligent, caring or 
responsible. It cannot see frustration on a 
child’s face, and it has no power to see 
inside the student’s mind. It’s up to the 
teacher, in co-operation with the developers 
of good educational software to reproduce 
and exploit experiences which are usually 


EDUCATION 


outside the capabilities and resources of the 
classroom. Ultimately, only the teacher can 
entrain the enthusiasm of the children. The 
seventh basic principle is: teachers are 
intelligent - computers are not. 

So why use the computer? The ‘because 
it’s there’ approach is not adequate in terms 
of philosophy, curriculum integration or 
good teaching practice. It is vitally impor- 
tant that you know exactly why you are 
using the computer in the classroom. How 
does it integrate with the on-going work in 
your theme or subject? Is its use planned or 
haphazard? How does it improve the tradi- 
tional methods of teaching, learning or 
writing? How do you plan its timetabling 
among the children, and how do you justify 
the decision to let individuals or groups use, 
or even monopolise, the machine? Or have 
you decided that the computer sits on the 
teacher’s desk and is only used under your 
supervision? Are you certain that when the 
adviser or inspector walks in that you can 
justify your use of the computer? 

If all these questions are putting you off 
the idea of even thinking about a computer, 
consider the thought and planning that goes 
into the decision to use a particular televi- 
sion or radio broadcast. You would not 
permit the use of any programme unless 
you felt certain that it meshed with your 
own objectives. The occasional use of the 
TV when they need a rest generally leaves 
teachers feeling guilty - and the same 
applies to the computer. So the software 
you choose must be appropriate to your 
teaching needs. 

Generally there is a great deal of thought 
and planning put into developing a piece of 
software. But if it is not appropriate to your 
teaching style, then don’t use it. The 
greatest danger with computers in the class- 
room is that the tail can all too easily begin 
to wag the dog. So principle number eight is 
simply: computer integration must be plan- 
ned to fit into local conditions. 

If you have read this far, then the door is 
open for you to begin considering the 
computer as a tool in your classroom. Use 
the services provided by your local author- 
ity and national bodies to help you in your 
search for software and information. Don’t 
be inhibited by those people who insist on 
using computer-speak - there is nearly 
always sense underneath it all. Above all, be 
open to the wide range of possibilities 
which use of the computer can offer you. 
Nick Evans and Chris Drage are the authors 
of The Guide to Computers in the Class- 
room to be published in October 1988 by 
LDA , 32 Bridge St } Cambridge. 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


77 


I ; ^ 

PRESS 

Dabhand 

User 

News 

David Atherton and 
Bruce Smith bring 
you the first book 
written specifically 
for the Archimedes. 

A must for every 
Acorn User's book- 
shelf is Archimedes 
Assembly Language: 
A Dabhand Guide 
by Acorn User con- 
tributor Mike Ginns. 

If you are a Mini 
Office II user then 
you need our new 
support ROM - 
MiniDriver - for 
your micro providing 
printer support and a 
ViewData terminal. 

Dab Handers. Don’t 
foget that we already 
have an extensive list 
of books and soft- 
ware for your Acorn 
machine with more 
on the way. 

See us at the PCW 
Show for some excit- 
ing new Archimedes 
software releases. 

A two minute phone 
call will secure you a 
copy of our FREE 32 
page catalogue 
containing full 
details of all our 
books and software 
products. 


Archimedes 

Dabhand Guides 


Archimedes Assembly Language 

At last the first book specifically written to provide a complete guide to 
programming the Archimedes in machine code. Whether you are an 
Archimedes owner, a user, or just interested in the ARM chip this book is 
truely the definitive guide. 

In a massive 368 pages, author Mike Ginns provides a clear, step by step 
account of using the assembler. Practical throughout containing 66 docu- 
mented programs illustrating the theory, and making it ideal for the begin- 
ner as well as serving as a superb comprehensive reference. 

But this book goes much, much further. For instance it explains how to use 
the Debugger and there is a large section on implementing BASIC equiva- 
lents in machine code plus coverage of Arthur and use of SWIs, WIMPs, the 
Font Manager, graphics and sound to name but a few. In fact every thing you 
need to program the Archie and to convert BASIC programs into assembler. 

The book is applicable to all Archimedes computers and includes a full 
reference section. A programs disc is also available and contains 11 extra 
programs including a disassembler, memory editor and disc sector editor. 

Price: Incredibly just £14.95 for book, £9.95 for disc, £21 .95 ordered together. 

MiniDriver: Printer Power for Mini Office II Users 

Yet another first for Dabs Press - the first support ROM for Mini Office II, 
providing powerful printer support from within any module and a View- 
Data terminal all in one for just £24.95 including examples disc and manual . 
Printer control is achieved by use of simple, easy to remember two-letter 
commands with can be embedded in your wordprocessor text or used from 
any of the menus. Other features include: on-screen preview, test print and 
a high quality NLQ printer driver giving letter quality text on any Epson- 
compatible printer. The ViewData terminal allows you to access services 
such as Prestel and Micronet, not catered for by the Comms module. 

Master Operating System by David Atherton 

This masterly guide to the B+, Master 128 and Compact written by Hints & 
Tips man David Atherton is the guide to getting the most from these micros, 
and highly recommended for the bookshelf. A&B said it that it is "invaluable " . 
Comparing it with the New Advanced User Guide and the WE Advanced 
Reference Guide Beebug magazine said: "The Dabs book certainly has more 
detailed information on the MOS as one would expect". At only £12.95 or £17.95 
with disc it's also considerably cheaper! 

FREE! 

Write to us, phone us, or send us a mailbox and we will send you, free of 
charge, our information packed 32 page catalogue giving full details of all 
our products. We'll aslo send you details of new books and software as they 
role off the presses. Come and see us at the PCW Show for thcreleaseof some 
exciting new products! 

Orders 

Send cheques, POs, official orders to the address below, or quote your 
Access/ Visa card number and expiry date. Credit card orders accepted by 
phone, letter or mailbox. P&P free in UK. Elsewhere add £2 or £10 airmail. 
BBC 3.5" ADFS disc £2 extra. Please state if required. 

Dabs Press (AU), 76 Gardner Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 7HU. 
Phone: 061-773-2413 Prestel: 942876210 BT Gold: 72:MAG11596 


78 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 




YELLOW PAGES 


COMPATIBILITY 



Program 

Page 

BBC B 

B4-/128 

Master 

128 

Master 

Compact 

Electron 

Arc 

6502SP/ 

Turbo 

ADFS 

Econct 

Shadow 

RAM 

Monthly 

T/D 

Hints & Tips 

79 












Listing 1 


■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 




■ 

■ 


■ 

Listing 2 


■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Listing 3 


■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 


■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Listing 4 
Arc Agora 

84 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 


■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Listing 1-4 







■ 


■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Joe’s Jottings 

87 












Listings 1 



■ 

■ 

■ 


■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Network Page (1) 

94 












Listings 1-3 


■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 



■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Note 













1. Requires Teletext Adapter 

& ATS ROM 












HINTS & TIPS 



See Hints & Tips, page 33 


Listing 1. Instant text dump 


10 REM print screen f 

2B0 

SEI 


610 

BNE exit 


unction 

290 

LDX 

#entry MOD 256 

620 

LDA #13 


20 REM by David Ather 

300 

LDY 

evntv 

630 

LDX #4 


ton and Graham Bell 

310 

STX 

evntv 

640 

JSR osbyte 


30 REM for BBC B/B+/M 

320 

STY 

exi tv 

650 

CLI 


/C 

330 

LDX 

#entry DIV 256 

660 

JSR prinsc 


40 REM (c) Acorn User 

340 

LDY 

evntv+1 

670 

LDA #14 


August 19BB 

350 

STX 

evntv+1 

680 

LDX #4 


50 s 

360 

STY 

exi tv+1 

690 

JSR osbyte 


60 osbyte= 3 &FFF4 

370 

CLI 


700 

.exit 


70 oswrch=&FFEE 

3B0 

LDA 

#14 

710 

PLA 


BO evntv =&0220 

390 

LDX 

#4 

720 

TAY 


90 printw=BO 

400 

JSR 

osbyte 

730 

PLA 


100 : 

410 

RTS 


740 

TAX 


110 FOR pass=0 TO 3 ST 

420 

: 


750 

PLA 


EP 3 

430 

. entry 

760 

PLP 


120 P7.=&0900 

440 

P HP 


770 

JMP (exitv) 


130 : 

450 

PHA 


780 

• 


140 C 

460 

TXA 


790 

.exitv OPT 

FNequw 

150 OPT pass 

470 

PHA 


(0) 


160 . instal 

4B0 

TYA 


800 

.xpos OPT 

FNequb 

170 LDA evntv 

490 

PHA 


(0) 

180 CMP #entry MOD 256 

500 

LDA 

#129 

810 

-ypos OPT 

FNequb 

190 BNE notin 

510 

LDX 

#150 

(0) 

200 LDA evntv+1 

520 

LDY 

#255 

820 

.width OPT 

FNequb 

210 CMP #entry DIV 256 

530 

JSR 

osbyte 

(0) 


220 BNE notin 

540 

CPX 

#255 

830 

. wi d2 OPT 

FNequb 

230 BRK 

550 

BNE 

exit 

<0) 


240 OPT FNequb ( 12B) 

560 

LDA 

#129 

840 

.lines OPT 

FNequb 

250 OPT FNequs ( "PrtSc 

570 

LDX 

#254 

(0) 


already installed") 

580 

LDY 

#255 

850 

. 


260 BRK 

590 

JSR 

osbyte 

860 

. prinsc 


270 .notin 

600 

CPX 

#255 

870 

LDA #134 

Continued ► 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


79 




YELLOW PAGES 


◄ Hints & Tips listing 1 continued 






B0O 

JSR osbyte 


1300 

. movprt 

llation, press CTRL COPY 

090 

STX xpos 


1390 

DEC wid2 

"’"for a screen dump" 

900 

STY ypos 


1400 

BNE nonewl 

1050 

I7.=GET 

910 

LDA #30 


1410 

. newl 

1060 

IF I7.=ASC "I" THEN 

920 

JSR oswrch 


1420 

DEC lines 

CALL 

8(900 

930 

LDA #135 


1430 

LDA width 

1070 

IF I7.=ASC "S" THEN 

940 

JSR osbyte 


1440 

STA wid2 

PROCoscli ("SAVE PRTSC 9 

950 

TYA 


1450 

CMP ttprintw 

00 "+STR*~end ) 

960 

ASL A 


1460 

BEQ nonewl 

1000 

END 

970 

TAY 


1470 

LDA #13 

1090 

: 

900 

LDA size, Y 


1400 

JSR princh 

1900 

DEF FNequb (b*/.) 

990 

STA width 


1490 

LDA #10 

1910 

?P"/.=b"/. 

1000 

STA wid2 


1500 

JSR princh 

1920 

P7.=P’/.+ l 

1010 

LDA si ze+ 1 , Y 


1510 

. nonewl 

1930 

=pass 

f020 

STA lines 


1520 

RTS 

1940 

: 

1030 



1530 

8 

1950 

DEF FNequw(b"/.) 

1040 

. loop 


1540 

. movcur 

1960 

?py.=b"/. MOD 256 

1050 

LDA #135 


1550 

LDA lines 

1970 

Py.?l=b% DIV 256 

1060 

JSR osbyte 


1560 

BEQ nonewc 

1900 

py.=p -/.+2 

1070 

TXA 


1570 

LDA #9 

1990 

=pass 

1000 

BNE loopl 


1500 

JSR oswrch 

2000 

8 

1090 

LDA #32 


1590 

. nonewc 

2010 

DEF FNequs(b*) 

1100 

. loopl 


1600 

RTS 

2020 

$p-/.=b$ 

1110 

JSR princh 


1610 

: 

2030 

Py.=P"/.+LEN<b*) 

1120 

JSR movprt 


1620 

. size 

2040 

=pass 

1130 

JSR movcur 


1630 

OPT FNequb (00) 

2050 

8 

1140 

BNE loop 


1640 

OPT FNequb (32) 

2060 

DEF PROCoscli (stri 

1150 

LDA #12 


1650 

OPT FNequb (40) 

ng*) 


1160 

JSR princh 


1660 

OPT FNequb (32) 

2070 

DIM Xy. 8(FF 

1170 

LDA #31 


1670 

OPT FNequb (20) 

2000 

YX=Xy. DIV 256 

1100 

JSR oswrch 


1600 

OPT FNequb (32) 

2090 

*Xy.=stri ng* 

1190 

LDA xpos 


1690 

OPT FNequb (00) 

2100 

CALL 8<FFF7 

1200 

JSR oswrch 


1700 

OPT FNequb (25) 

2110 

ENDPROC 

1210 

LDA ypos 


1710 

OPT FNequb (40) 

2120 

* 

1220 

JSR oswrch 


1720 

OPT FNequb (32) 

2130 

DEF PROCchecksum ( 

1230 

LDA #7 


1730 

OPT FNequb (20) 

start. 

, end, sum) 

1240 

JSR oswrch 


1740 

OPT FNequb (32) 

2140 

C'/.=0 

1250 

RTS 


1750 

OPT FNequb (40) 

2150 

FOR IX=start TO en 

1260 

: 


1760 

OPT FNequb (25) 

d 


1270 

. princh 


1770 

OPT FNequb (40) 

2160 

cy.=cy.+?(r/.) 

1200 

PHA 


1700 

OPT FNequb (25) 

2170 

NEXT 

1290 

LDA #3 


1790 

- end 

2100 

IF C"/.=sum THEN END 

1300 

LDX #10 


1000 

1 NEXT 

PROC 


1310 

JSR osbyte 


1010 

: 

2190 

PRINT "Please chec 

1320 

PLA 


1020 

PROCchecksum (&900 k listing" 

1330 

JSR oswrch 


, end-: 

1,8<0O6O) 



1340 

LDA #3 


1030 

PRINT "Press I to 



1350 

JSR osbyte 


install or S to save cod 


1360 

RTS 


e" 




1370 

: 


1040 

PRINT "After insta 



Listing 2. Scrabble scorer 






10 

REM Scrabble Scorer II 


170 

• 


20 

REM by Richard 

Main 


100 

CLS 


30 

REM for B/B+/E/M/C/A 


190 

PROCheader 


40 

REM Acorn User 

Aug 00 


200 

PROCdi splay 


50 

: 



210 

REPEAT 


60 

DIM letts*(50) 

. lef tlet* ( 10) 

220 

FOR P7.= l TO N 


70 

MODE 6 



230 

PRINT TAB <0, <P'/.*4) -3) ; "Player ";P/. 

00 

PROCheader 



.ii ii . 

9 9 

; name* <P V.) 


90 

INPUTTAB (0, 2) " 

How many 

players (1- 240 

INPUT "What is 

your word" ; SPC22; TA 

4) 

N 



B (20, 

(P/L*4) -2) ; word* 


100 

IF N>4 OR N< 1 

VDU 7 s GOTO 50 

250 

length=LEN (word*) 

110 

DIM name* (N) , scored (N) 

, none (N) 

260 

FOR letts’/.=l TO length 

120 

FOR A7.= l TO N 



270 

letts* (letts7.) : 

=MID* (word*, lettsy., 1 

130 

PRINT’ "Player 

" ;A7.;" Enter your 

na ) 



me : ' 

ii • 
, 



200 

NEXT 


140 

scored (A%) =0 



290 

total Y.=0 


150 

INPUT "" name* <A7.) 


300 

FOR loop=l TO 

1 ength 

160 

NEXT 



310 

RESTORE 








Continued ► 


HINTS & TIPS 



80 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


YELLOW PAGES 

HINTS & TIPS 


< Hints & Tips listing 2 continued 

320 FOR check=l TO 26 
330 READ 1 etter$, valued 
340 IF 1 etter$=l etts$ (loop) total7.=tot 
al’/.+ value’/. ELSE 370 

350 IF letts$ (loop+1 ) ="l " total ’/.=total 
7.+ value’/. 

360 IF 1 etts$ (loop+1 ) =*"h" total ’/.=total 
7.+ (2# value’/.) 

370 NEXT 

380 IF letts$ (loop) ="d" total ’/.=total ’/.* 

2 

390 IF letts$ (loop) = "t " total ’/.=total 7.* 
3 

400 NEXT 

410 PRINT TAB (0, <P7.*4)-1) "Word scores 
"; total "/.;SPC22 

420 PRINT TAB <0, 17) ; "Are you sure this 
is right (Y/N) " ; : S$=CHR$ (GET AND &DF) 
430 PRINT TAB<0, 17) ;SPC38; 

440 IF S$< >" Y" AND S*<>"N" VDU 7:G0T0 
420 

450 IF S$="N" GOTO 230 

460 score"/. <PX> =scoreX (PX) +total X 

470 NEXT 

480 PRQCscores 

490 PRINT TAB <0, 17) ; "Have you -finished 
? (Y/N)“;SPC9; 

500 F$=CHR$ (GET AND &DF) 

510 PRINT TAB (0, 17) ; SPC38; 

520 IF F*< >"Y" AND F*<>"N" VDU 7: GOTO 
500 

530 UNTIL F*="Y" 

540 : 

550 combi ne=0 
560 CLS 

570 PROCdi splay 

580 FOR final X=1 TO N 

590 PRINT TAB(0, (4*f i nal X) -3) ; "Player 
";f inalX; ", ";name$(f inalX) ; ", What hav 
e you left?" 

600 INPUTTAB (0, (4*f inal X) -2) ; 1 ef t* 

610 total=0 

620 lengthX=LEN (left*) 

630 IF lengthX=0 THEN none(f inalX) =1:G 
0T0 760: ELSE none (f i nalX) =0 
640 FOR loop=l TO lengthX 
650 lef t let* (loop) =MID* (left*, loop, 1 ) 
660 NEXT 

670 FOR loop2=l TO lengthX 
680 RESTORE 
690 FOR check=l TO 26 
700 READ check*, value 

710 IF lef tlet* (loop2) =check* total=to 
tal+value 
720 NEXT 
730 NEXT 

740 combi ne=combi ne+total 

750 scor e"/. (f i nal X) =score"/. (final"/.) -tota 


760 PRINT TAB (0, (4#f inalX) -1 ) ; "You hav 
e " ; total ; " left" 

770 NEXT 

780 FOR loop=l TO N 

790 IF none(loop)=l THEN scoreX (1 oop) = 
scoreX (1 oop) -t-combi ne 
800 NEXT 
810 PROC scores 
820 : 

830 PRINT TAB (0, 18) j "Do you want a pri 
ntout? (Y/N) "; 

840 P*=CHR$ (GET AND &DF) 

850 IF P*< >" Y" AND P*<>"N" VDU 7: GOTO 
840 

860 IF p$="Y" PROCpr i ntscor e 
870 END 
880 : 

890 DATA A, 1,B,3,C,3,D,2,E, 1,F,4,G,2 
900 DATA H,4, I, 1, J,8,K,5,L, 1,M,3,N, 1 
910 DATA 0, 1,P,3,Q, 10, R, 1,S, 1,T, 1,U, 1 
920 DATA V,4,W,4,X,8,Y,4,Z, 10 
930 : 

940 DEF PROCdi splay 
950 FOR S"/.= l TO N 

960 PRINT TAB (0, 19+SX) ; "Player ";SX;", 

" ; name* <SX) 

970 PRINT TAB (20, 19+SX) ; " Your score i 
s" 

980 NEXT 
990 PROCscores 
1000 ENDPROC 
1010 : 

1020 DEF PROCscores 
1030 FOR S"/.= l TO N 

1040 PRINT TAB (35, 19+SX) ; scoreX (SX) 

1050 NEXT 
1060 ENDPROC 
1070 : 

1080 DEF PROCprintscore 

1090 CLS 

1100 VDU 2 

1110 FOR A=1 TO N 

1120 PRINT ’ 

1130 PRINT "Player ";A 5 ", ";name*(A>; 
1140 PRINT ; TAB (20);" Your score is " ;s 
coreX (A) 

1150 NEXT 
1160 VDU 3 
1170 ENDPROC 
1180 : 

1190 DEF PROCheader 
1200 COLOUR 0 
1210 COLOUR 129 

1220 PRINT " Acorn User Scrabble Scorer 
Mk II "; 

1230 COLOUR 1 
1240 COLOUR 128 
1250 ENDPROC 


Listing 3. 8-pin dump enhancer (for NEC Pinwriter) 

10 REM Dump to 24-pin 
pr i nters 

20 REM by Martin Hesk 

eth 

30 REM -for B/B+/E/M/C 
40 REM (c) Acorn User 
August 1988 
50 : 

60 insert=? (7&FFB7+25 
6*?&FFBB+&2A) +256*? (?&FF 
B7+256*?&FFB8+8<2B) 


70 

EP 3 

FOR pass=0 TO 3 ST 

170 

180 

TVA 

PHA 


80 

P7.=8<900 

190 

LDA 

#128 

90 

COPT pass 

200 

LDX 

#252 

100 

. start 

210 

LDY 

#255 

110 

CPX #3 

220 

JSR 

&FFF4 

120 

BNE send 

230 

CPX 

#4 

130 

140 

STA block 
PHA 

240 

250 

BMI 

-full 

150 

TXA 

260 

LDA 

block+1 

160 

PHA 

270 

CMP 

#1 

Continued ^ 


ACORN USER AUGUST 19S8 


81 


YELLOW PAGES 

HINTS & TIPS 


◄ Hints & Tips listing 3 continued 

280 BEQ code 
290 CMP #2 
300 BEQ jmplength 
310 CMP #4 
320 BEQ jmpcodel 
330 CMP #3 
340 BNE jmp 
350 JMP expand 
360 -jmp 
370 LDA block 
380 CMP #27 
390 BEQ escape 
400 -ins 
410 PLA 
420 TAY 
430 PLA 
440 TAX 
450 PLA 
460 -send 
470 JMP insert 
480 -jmplength 
490 JMP length 
500 -jmpcodel 
510 JMP codel 
520 -full 
530 PLA 
540 TAY 
550 PLA 
560 TAX 
570 PLA 
580 SEC 
590 RTS 
600 : 

610 -escape 
620 LDA #1 
630 STA block+1 
640 LDA #27 
650 JSR input 
660 -return 
670 PLA 
680 TAY 
690 PLA 
700 TAX 
710 PLA 
720 CLC 
730 RTS 
740 s 
750 -code 
760 LDA #2 
770 STA block+1 
780 STA block+2 
790 LDA block 
800 CMP #ASC"K" 
810 BEQ sdens 
820 CMP #ASC"L" 
830 BEQ ddens 
840 CMP #ASC" Y" 
850 BEQ ddens 
860 CMP #ASC"Z" 
870 BEQ tdens 
880 CMP #ASC"* U 
890 BEQ extracode 
900 LDA #0 
910 STA block+1 
920 JMP ins 
930 .extracode 
940 LDA #4 
950 STA block+1 
960 JMP return 
970 -sdens 
980 LDA #ASC“ * " 
990 JSR input 
1000 LDA #32 
1010 JSR input 
1020 JMP return 


1030 -ddens 
1040 LDA #ASC“ # " 
1050 JSR input 
1060 LDA #33 
1070 JSR input 
1080 JMP return 
1090 -tdens 
1100 LDA #ASC"* n 
1110 JSR input 
1120 LDA #39 
1130 JSR input 
1140 JMP return 
1150 . crt 
1160 LDA #ASC"* M 
1170 JSR input 
1180 LDA #38 
1190 JSR input 
1200 JMP return 
1210 : 

1220 -codel 
1230 LDA #2 
1240 STA block+1 
1250 LDA block 
1260 CMP #0 
1270 BEQ sdens 
1280 CMP #1 
1290 BEQ ddens 
1300 CMP #2 
1310 BEQ ddens 
1320 CMP #3 
1330 BEQ tdens 
1340 CMP #4 
1350 BEQ crt 
1360 CMP #6 
1370 BEQ crt 
1380 JSR input 
1390 LDA #0 
1400 STA block+1 
1410 JMP return 
1420 -input 
1430 LDX #3 
1440 JSR insert 
1450 RTS 
1460 -length 
1470 LDA block 
1480 DEC block+2 
1490 LDX block+2 
1500 STA bl ock+3, X 
1510 JSR input 
1520 LDA block+2 
1530 BNE jump 
1540 LDA #3 
1550 STA block+1 
1560 -jump 
1570 JMP return 
1580 -expand 
1590 SEC 

1600 LDA block+4 
1610 SBC #1 
1620 STA block+4 
1630 LDA bl ock+3 
1640 SBC #0 
1650 STA bl ock+3 
1660 LDA block+4 
1670 CMP #255 
1680 BNE triple 
1690 LDA bl ock+3 
1700 CMP #255 
1710 BNE triple 
1720 LDA #0 
1730 STA block+1 
1740 LDA block 
1750 JSR input 
1760 JMP return 
1770 -triple 


1780 LDA #0 
1790 STA block+5 
1800 STA block+6 
1810 STA block+7 
1820 LDA block 
1830 LDY #8 
1840 -eloop 
1850 CLC 
1860 RDL block 
1870 BCS ejump 
1880 LDX #3 
1890 -eloopl 
1900 CLC 

1910 ROL block+7 
1920 ROL block+6 
1930 ROL block+5 
1940 DEX 
1950 CPX #0 
1960 BNE eloopl 
1970 JMP endloop 
1980 -ejump 
1990 LDX #3 
2000 -eloop2 
2010 SEC 

2020 ROL block+7 
2030 ROL block+6 
2040 ROL block+5 
2050 DEX 
2060 CPX #0 
2070 BNE el oop2 
2080 -endloop 
2090 DEY 
2100 CPY #0 
2110 BNE eloop 
2120 LDA block+5 
2130 JSR input 
2140 LDA block+6 
2150 JSR input 
2160 LDA block+7 
2170 JSR input 
2180 JMP return 
2190 -block. 

2200 OPT FNequb(O) 

2210 1 

2220 NEXT pass 
2230 PROCchecksum (start 
, block-start, 42374) 

2240 ?&22A=start MOD 25 

6 

2250 ?&22B=start DIV 25 

6 

2260 ? (block+1 ) =0 
2270 PRINT *'8 pin - 24 
pin Converter now active 

it 

2280 END 
2290 : 

2300 DEF PROCchecksum <s 
tart7., 1 ength"/., resul t*/.) 
2310 total 7.=0 
2320 FOR bytey.=start*/. T 
0 starty.+ l engthy. 

2330 total y.=totaiy.+?byt 

eV. 

2340 NEXT 

2350 IF total */-=resulty. 
THEN ENDPROC 
2360 PRINT "Checksum er 
ror . " 9 "PI ease check list 
ing and rerun-" 

2370 END 
2380 s 

2390 DEF FNequb (bTC) 

2400 ?P"/.=b7. 

2410 py.=py.+ i 

2420 =pass 


82 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


YELLOW PAGES 

HINT S & TIPS 


Listing 4. Powers of two 

10 REM Powers of 2 
20 REM by Martin Hesk 

eth 

30 REM for B/B+/E/M/C 
40 REM (c) Acorn User 
August 1988 
50 : 

60 MODE 7 

70 VDU 23, 1 , 0; 0; 0; 0; 0 
80 start=&1900 
90 f inish=8(7BOO 
100 FOR pass"/.=0 TO 3 S 
TEP 3 

110 P"/.=8(900 
120 COPT pass* 

130 LDA #start MOD 256 
140 STA 8<70 

150 LDA #start DIV 256 

160 STA 8(71 

170 LDV #0 

180 .loop 

190 LDA #0 

200 STA (8(70), Y 

210 INY 

220 CPY #0 

230 BNE loop 

240 INC 8(71 

250 LDA &7 1 

260 CMP # ( f i n i sh DIV 2 
56) +1 

270 BNE loop 
280 LDA #1 
290 STA finish 
300 STA 8(76 

310 LDA #f i ni sh DIV 25 

6 

320 STA 8(71 
330 LDA #0 
340 STA 8(75 
350 STA 8<74 
360 STA 8(80 
370 STA 8(77 
380 STA 8(78 
390 .mainloop 
400 CLC 
410 LDY #0 
420 LDA (8(70) , Y 
430 ROL A 
440 ADC 8(80 
450 STA (8(70) , Y 
460 LDA #0 
470 STA &80 
480 LDA (8(70) , Y 
490 CMP #10 
500 BM I jump 
510 SEC 
520 SBC #10 
530 STA (8(70) , Y 
540 LDA #1 
550 STA 8(80 
560 .jump 
570 DEC &70 
580 LDA 8(70 
590 CMP #255 
600 BNE jumpl 
610 DEC 8(7 1 
620 LDA 8(71 

630 CMP #start DIV 256 
640 BEQ end 
650 : 

660 .jumpl 
670 DEC 8(74 
680 LDA &74 
690 CMP #255 


700 BNE mainloop 
710 DEC 8<75 
720 LDA 8<75 
730 CMP #255 
740 BNE mainloop 
750 BEQ jump2 
760 s 

770 DEC 8<70 
780 LDA 8<70 
790 BNE jump2 
BOO DEC 8(71 
810 LDA 8(71 

820 CMP #start DIV 256 

830 BEQ end 

840 .jump2 

850 LDA 8<80 

860 BEQ jump3 

870 STA (8(70), Y 

880 DEC 8(70 

890 LDA 8(70 

900 CMP #255 

910 BNE jump3 

920 DEC 8(71 

930 LDA 8(71 

940 CMP #start DIV 256 
950 BEQ end 
960 .jump3 
970 LDA #129 
980 LDX #157 
990 LDY #255 
1000 JSR 8(FFF4 
1010 CPX #255 
1020 BEQ print 
1030 .return 
1040 JSR up 
1050 JMP mainloop 
1060 .end 
1070 LDA #7 
1080 JSR 8(FFEE 
1090 RTS 
1100 .print 
1110 LDA 8(70 
1120 STA 8(72 
1130 LDA 8(71 
1140 STA 8(73 
1150 JSR header 
1160 -printloop 
1170 LDY #1 
1180 CLC 

1190 LDA (8(72), Y 

1200 ADC #48 

1210 JSR 8<FFEE 

1220 INC 8(72 

1230 LDA 8(72 

1240 BNE printloop 

1250 INC 8(73 

1260 LDA 8(73 

1270 CMP #f inish DIV 25 

6 

1280 BNE printloop 
1290 LDA #13 
1300 JSR 8(FFE3 
1310 JSR 8(FFE3 
1320 JMP return 
1330 .up 
1340 SEC 

1350 LDA # (f i ni sh DIV 2 
56) —1 

1360 SBC 8(71 
1370 STA 8(75 
1380 SEC 
1390 LDA #255 
1400 SBC 8(70 
1410 STA 8(74 


1420 

CLC 


1430 

6 

LDA 

#f inish DIV 25 

1440 

STA 

8(71 

1450 

s 


1460 

LDA 

#0 

1470 

STA 

8(70 

1480 

LDA 

8(74 

1490 

ADC 

8(80 

1500 

STA 

8(74 

1510 

LDA 

8(75 

1520 

ADC 

#0 

1530 

STA 

8(75 

1540 

LDA 

#0 

1550 

STA 

8<80 

1560 

SED 


1570 

CLC 


1580 

LDA 

8(76 

1590 

ADC 

#1 

1600 

STA 

8(76 

1610 

LDA 

8(77 

1620 

ADC 

#0 

1630 

STA 

8(77 

1640 

LDA 

8(78 

1650 

ADC 

#0 

1660 

STA 

8(78 

1670 

CLD 


1680 

RTS 


1690 

. header 

1700 

LDA 

#ASC"2" 

1710 

JSR 

8(FFEE 

1720 

LDA 

#32 

1730 

JSR 

8(FFEE 

1740 

LDA 

#ASC"^" 

1750 

JSR 

8(FFEE 

1760 

LDA 

#32 

1770 

JSR 

8<FFEE 

1780 

LDX 

#2 

1790 

. hloop 

1800 

LDA 

8(76, X 

1810 

AND 

#8(F0 

1820 

LDY 

#4 

1830 

-hloop 1 

1840 

LSR 

A 

1850 

DEY 


1860 

BNE 

hloop 1 

1870 

CLC 


1880 

ADC 

#48 

1890 

JSR 

8(FFEE 

1900 

LDA 

8(76, X 

1910 

AND 

#15 

1920 

CLC 


1930 

ADC 

#48 

1940 

JSR 

8(FFEE 

1950 

DEX 


1960 

CPX 

#255 

1970 

BNE 

hloop 

1980 

LDA 

#32 

1990 

JSR 

8(FFEE 

2000 

LDA 

#ASC"=" 

2010 

JSR 

8(FFEE 

2020 

LDA 

#32 

2030 

JSR 

8(FFEE 

2040 

RTS 


2050 

1 


2060 

NEXT pass"/. 

2070 

PROCchecksum (8(900, 


348,46547) 

2080 PRINT "Press SPACE 
to see the numbers" 

2090 CALL 8(900 
2100 END 
2110 s 

2120 DEF PROCchecksum (s 
tart*/., length^, resul t%) 

Continued ► 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


83 


YELLOW PAGES 

A R C A cm 


◄ Hints & Tips listing 4 continued 

2130 total 7.=0 

2140 FOR byte7.=start7. T 
0 start7.+length7. 

2150 total 7.=total7.+?byt 
e7. 

2160 NEXT 

2170 IF total 7.=result7. 
THEN ENDPROC 

2180 PRINT "Checksum er 
ror. "’ "Please check list 
ing and rerun. " 

2190 END 


The easiest way to enter the listing is to buy the monthly listings disc or cassette. The 
disc is fully menu-driven and an excellent buy at only £5.95. The programs are also 
available on 3.5 inch disc for the Archimedes, Compact and Electron at £7.95. See the 
order form on page 101/102 for details. 

The listings can also be downloaded from Micronet if you have a Micronet 
subscription. The Acorn User software can be downloaded just like any other 
programs from Prestel. Log on as normal and type *AU#. The charge for the software 
from Micronet is £5.00, so you can save money too. 


See Archimedes Agora, page 48 


Listing 1. Screen compacter/decompacter 



10 REM Arc Agora - listing 1 

510 

SWI "0S_WriteC" 

20 REM ScreenUti 1 s source 

520 

MOV Rl,#3 

30 REM by David Acton 

530 

SWI "OSJReadModeVariable" 

40 REM -for Archimedes only 

540 

MOV numcol, R2 

50 REM (c) Acorn User August 1988 

550 

. 1 oadpal 

60 ; 

560 

MOV current,#2 

70 MODE 3 

570 

. 1 oadpal 2 

80 DIM code7. &1000 

580 

SWI &100+19 

90 temp=0: size=2: byte=3: scrsi ze=4 

590 

MOV RO, numcol 

100 cur rent =5: count =6: numcol =7 : pass^ 

600 

SWI "QS_WriteC" 

110 databi ts=8: datacount=9: numbi ts=10 

610 

ADD RO, current , #16 

120 scrst=ll:sp=13:link=14:pc=15 

620 

SWI "OS WriteC" 

130 FOR pass‘/.=4 TO 6 STEP 2 

630 

MOV R1 , #24 

140 P7.=0:07.=code7. 

640 

BL multiread 

150 COPT pass7. 

650 

STR RO, CR12, #361 

160 EQUD 0 

660 

ADD RO, R12, #36 

170 EQUD init 

670 

MOV R1 , #3 

180 EQUD 0 

680 

SWI "0S_Wri teN" 

190 EQUD 0 

690 

SUBS current, current , #1 

200 EQUD title 

700 

BNE 1 oadpal 2 

210 EQUD help 

710 

SUBS numcol , numcol , #1 

220 EQUD commandtable 

720 

BPL 1 oadpal 

230 .title 

730 

BL initscreen 

240 FNequz ( "ScreenUti 1 s" ) 

740 

BL bget 

250 .help 

750 

MDV numbi ts,R0 

260 FNequz ( "ScreenUti 1 s"+CHR$ (9) +" 1 . 00 

760 

. loadloop 

("+MID*(TIME*,5, ll>+"> "> 

770 

BL bget 

270 -commandtable 

780 

MOV current,RO 

280 FNcom ( "LoadPi c " , 1 dpi c , &1FF0 1 , 1 dpi c 

790 

MOV Rl, numbi ts 

syntax , ldpichelp) 

800 

BL multiread 

290 FNcom ( "SavePic" , svpi c, &1FF01 , svpic 

810 

ADD count, R0,#1 

syntax , svpichelp) 

820 

. loadloop2 

300 EQUD 0 

830 

STRB current, Cscrst , scrsi zel 

310 .ldpicsyntax 

840 

SUBS scrsize, scrsize, #1 

320 FNequz ("Syntax: *LoadPic C-filename 

850 

BMI close 

>") 

860 

SUBS count, count , #1 

330 .ldpichelp 

870 

BNE 1 oadl oop2 

340 FNequz <"*LoadPic <filename> loads 

880 

B loadloop 

a screen saved with *SavePic.") 

890 

2 

350 .svpicsyntax 

900 

. initscreen 

360 FNequz ("Syntax: *SavePic filename 

910 

STMFD (sp)!, Clink! 

>") 

920 

SWI "OS RemoveCursors" 

370 .svpichelp 

930 

MOV RO, #140 

380 FNequz ("*SavePic <-filename> compac 

940 

STR RO, CR12I 

ts and saves the current screen.") 

950 

MVN RO, #0 

390 : 

960 

STR RO, CR12, #41 

400 .ldpic 

970 

MOV RO, R12 

410 STMFD (sp) ! , Clink! 

980 

ADD Rl , R12, #8 

420 LDR R12, CR121 

990 

SWI "OS ReadVduVari abl es" 

430 MOV R1,R0 

1000 

LDR RO, CR12, #323 

440 MOV RO, #&40 

1010 

MOV Rl , #7 

450 SWI "OS Find" 

1020 

SW I " 0S_Read Mod eVar i ab 1 e " 

460 STR RO, CR12, #201 

1030 

LDR scrst , CR12, #8! 

470 MOV datacount , #1 

1040 

SUB scrsize, R2, #1 

480 BL bget 

1050 

LDMFD (sp) ! , Cpc! 

490 SWI &100+22 
500 STR RO, CR12, #321 

1060 

Continued ► 


84 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 



YELLOW PAGES 

lit HD R A 


< Arc Agora listing 1 continued 

1070 . svpic 

1080 STMFD (sp) ! , Clink} 

1090 LDR R12, CR123 
1100 MOV R1,R0 
1110 MOV RO, #8<80 
1120 SWI M OS__Find" 

1130 STR RO, CR12,#203 
1140 MOV datacount, #8 
1150 MOV RO, #135 
1160 SWI "QSJByte" 

1170 STR R2, CR12, #323 
1180 BL initscreen 
1190 LDR RO, CR12, #323 
1200 BL bput 
1210 LDR RO, CR12, #323 
1220 MOV Rl,#3 

1230 SWI "OS_ReadModeVari abl e" 

1240 MOV numcol , R2 

1250 -writepal 

1260 MOV RO, numcol 

1270 MOV R1 , #16 

1280 SWI "OS_ReadPalette" 

1290 MOV RO, R3, LSR #8 

1300 MOV R1 , #24 

1310 BL multiwrite 

1320 MOV RO, R2, LSR #8 

1330 MOV R1 , #24 

1340 BL multiwrite 

1350 SUBS numcol , numcol , #1 

1360 BPL writepal 

1370 MOV pass, #0 

1380 MOV temp, #&1000000 

1390 STR temp, [R12, #283 

1400 MOV numbi ts, #16 

1410 -savebitloop 

1420 MOV size, #0 

1430 BL screensub 

1440 LDR temp, CR12, #283 

1450 CMP size, temp 

1460 STRLT si ze, CR12, #283 

1470 STRLT numbi ts, CR12, #243 

1480 SUBS numbi ts, numbi ts, #1 

1490 BNE savebitloop 

1500 LDR RO, CR12, #243 

1510 BL bput 

1520 LDR numbits, CR12,#243 

1530 MOV pass, #1 

1540 BL screensub 

1550 MOV R1 , #31 

1560 BL multiwrite 

1570 -close 

1580 SWI "OS__RestoreCursors" 
1590 MOV RO, #0 
1600 LDR Rl, CR12, #203 
1610 SWI "OS__Find" 

1620 LDMFD (sp) ! , Cpc} 

1630 s 

1640 -screensub 

1650 STMFD (sp)!, Clink} 

1660 MOV byte,scrsize 
1670 -saveloop 

1680 LDRB current , Cscrst, byte3 

1690 MOV count, #0 

1700 - samel oop 

1710 LDRB temp , Cscrst , byte 3 

1720 CMP temp, current 

1730 BNE notsame 

1740 ADD count , count, #1 

1750 SUBS byte, byte, #1 

1760 BMI save2 

1770 MOV temp , #1 

1780 CMP count , temp , ASL numbits 

1790 BNE samel oop 


1800 -notsame 
1810 BL save 
1820 B saveloop 
1830 -save 

1840 STMFD (sp) ! , -Cl ink> 

1850 . save2 
1860 CMP pass,#0 
1870 ADDEQ size, size, #8 
1880 ADDEQ si ze, si ze, numbi ts 
1890 LDMEQFD (sp) ! , Cpc} 

1900 MOV RO, current 
1910 BL bput 
1920 SUB RO, count, #1 
1930 MOV Rl, numbits 
1940 BL multiwrite 
1950 LDMFD (sp) ! , Cpc} 

1960 : 

1970 . bget 

1980 MOV Rl , #B 

1990 -multiread 

2000 STMFD (sp) ! , CR1 , 1 ink} 

2010 - mul t i readl oop 
2020 STMFD (sp ) ! , CRO, Rl } 

2030 SUBS datacount , datacount , #1 
2040 BNE dontread 
2050 LDR Rl, CR12,#203 
2060 SWI "0S_BGet" 

2070 MOV databits,RO 
2080 MOV datacount, #8 
2090 -dontread 

2100 MOVS databi ts, databi ts, LSR #1 
2110 LDMFD (sp) ! , CR0,R1} 

2120 MOV RO, RO, RRX 
2130 SUBS Rl , Rl , #1 
2140 BNE mul tireadloop 
2150 LDMFD (sp > ! , CR1 , 1 i nk} 

2160 RSB Rl , Rl , #32 
2170 MOV RO, RO, LSR Rl 
2180 MOV pc, 1 ink 
2190 : 

2200 -bput 
2210 MOV Rl , #8 
2220 -multi write 
2230 STMFD (sp) ! , (link) 

2240 . mul ti wri tel oop 
2250 MOVS RO, RO, LSR #1 
2260 STMFD (sp ) ! , CRO, Rl > 

2270 MOV databi ts, databi ts, RRX 
2280 SUBS datacount , datacount , #1 
2290 MOVEQ datacount, #8 
2300 LDREQ R1,CR12,#203 
2310 MOVEQ RO, databi ts, LSR #24 
2320 SWIEQ "0S_BPut" 

2330 LDMFD (sp ) ! , CRO, Rl } 

2340 SUBS Rl , Rl , #1 
2350 BNE mul ti wri tel oop 
2360 LDMFD (sp) ! , Cpc} 

2370 s 
2380 -init 

2390 STMFD (sp)!, Clink} 

2400 MOV RO, #6 
2410 MOV R3, #&100 
2420 SWI "0S_Module" 

2430 STR R2, CR123 
2440 LDMFD (sp) ! , Cpc> 

2450 3: NEXT pass’/. 

2460 save$="SAVE Scrutils M +STR$~code7.+ 
"+STR$~07.+ " 0 0" 

2470 PRINT" * "save$ 

2480 settype$="SETTYPE Scrutils FFA" 

2490 PRINT" * "settype$ 

2500 OSCLI (save$) 

2510 OSCLI (settype$) 

Continued ► 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


85 



YELLOW PAGES 


◄ Arc Agora listing 1 continued 

2520 PRINT"Module saved as ’ Scruti Is’ " 
2530 END 
2540 : 

2550 DEF FNequz (s*> 

2560 COPT pass'/. 

2570 EQUS s$ 

2580 EQUB 0 
2590 ALIGN 
2600 3:=0 
2610 : 

2620 DEF FNcom (com$ ,call , flags, syntax , h 
elp) 

2630 COPT pass'/. 

2640 FNequz (com$) 

2650 EQUD call 
2660 EQUD flags 
2670 EQUD syntax 
2680 EQUD help 
2690 3 : =0 


Listing 2. Compacter test 


10 

REM Arc Agora - listing 2 

160 PRINT "==> Help on Module ScreenUt 

20 

REM Compaction test 

ils"' 

30 

REM by David Acton 

170 PRINT "*LoadPic <filename> loads a 

40 

REM for Archimedes only 

screen saved"' "with fcSavePi c ■ " ' ' " fcSaveP 

50 

REM (c) Acorn User August 1988 

ic < f i 1 ename> compacts and saves the"'"c 

60 

i 

urrent screen." 

70 

MODE 15 

180 IScreenSave LargePic 

80 

♦ScrUti 1 s 

190 *SavePic Small Pic 

90 

FOR circ'/.= l TO 1000 

200 *LoadPic Small Pic 

100 

GCOL RND (64) -1 TINT (RND (4) -1 ) *64 

210 SYS "0S_File", 5, "LargePic" TO ,,,, 

110 

CIRCLE FILL RND ( 1280) -1 , RND ( 1024) - 

orig7. 

1 , RND ( 100) 

220 SYS "0S_File" ,5, "Small Pic" TO ,,,, 

120 

GCOL RND (64) -1 TINT (RND (4) -1 ) *64 

new"/. 

130 

RECTANGLE FILL RND ( 1280) -1 , RND ( 102 

230 PRINT"Screen compacted to ";INT(ne 

4) -1 , RND ( 150) , RND (150) 

wX/orig7.*100) ; "X" 

140 

NEXT 

240 END 

150 

VDU 28,18,19,61,12,12 



Listing 3. Directory tree lister 


10 

REM Arc Agora - listing 3 

380 : 

20 

REM Tree 

390 DEF FNtree 

30 

REM by J F Button 

400 LOCAL seq, number, found, length, file 

40 

REM for Archimedes only 

len 

50 

REM (c) Acorn User August 1988 

410 seq=0: length=0 

60 

1 

420 REPEAT 

70 

PROCinit 

430 SYS"OS_GBPB" , 8, , name, 1 , seq TO ,,,n 

BO 

LINE INPUT' "Start at directory: "d 

umber, seq 

ir*' 


440 IF number=0 THEN 

90 

IF dir*=" " dir*="*" 

450 name? ( l+?name) =13 

100 

OSCLI "dir "+dir* 

460 name$=$(name+l) 

110 

length=FNtree 

470 IF INSTR (name$, " "> name*=LEFT* (na 

120 

PRINT' "Total space used=" ; FNtree; " 

me*, INSTR(name*, " ")-l) 

it*";' 

'length") bytes"' 

480 PROCindent (level ) 

130 

END 

490 SYS "0S_GBPB" , 8, , name, 1 , seq TO , , , 

140 

i 

nextone 

150 

DEF PROCinit 

500 IF nextone THEN 

160 

DIM level ( 127) , name &100 

510 IF level =0 AND seq=l THEN 

170 

level =0: indent=6 

520 VDU horizontal 

180 

IF M0DE=7 THEN 

530 ELSE 

190 

topi ine=ASC"-" 

540 VDU bottomcorner 

200 

vertical=ASC" ! " 

550 ENDIF 

210 

horizontal =ASC"“" 

560 ELSE 

220 

r ighttree=ASC"+" 

570 IF level =0 AND seq=l THEN 

230 

bottomcorner=ASC"+" 

580 VDU topline 

240 

ELSE 

590 ELSE 

250 

VDU 23,167,0,0,0,255,24,24,24,24 

600 VDU righttree 

260 

VDU 23, 169,24,24,24,24,24,24,24,24 

610 ENDIF 

270 

VDU 23,166,0,0,0,255,0,0,0,0 

620 ENDIF 

280 

VDU 23, 171,24,24,24,31,24,24,24,24 

630 SYS"0S_Fi 1 e" , 5, name$ TO found,,,, f 

290 

VDU 23,170,24,24,24,31,0,0,0,0 

i 1 el en 

300 

topi ine=167 

640 1 ength+=f i 1 el en 

310 

verti cal =169 

650 PRINT STRING* (indent-1, CHR*(horizo 

320 

hori zontal =166 

ntal ) ) ; name*; 

330 

righttree=171 

660 IF found=2 THEN 

340 

bottomcorner=170 

670 PRINT":" 

350 

ENDIF 

680 IF nextone THEN 

360 

space=32 

690 level (level )=space 

370 

ENDPROC 

700 ELSE „ . . _ 

Continued ► 


ARC AGORA 



86 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 



YELLOW PAGES 


JOE'S JOTTINGS 



M Arc Agora listing 3 continued 


710 

level (level ) =vertical 

840 

PROCindent (level ) 

720 

ENDIF 

850 

PRINT" (Length=&" ; ^length" ) " 

730 

level +=1 

860 

ENDIF 

740 

□SCLI "dir "+name* 

870 

=length 

750 

1 ength+=FNtree 

880 

j 

760 

1 evel -=1 

890 

DEF PROCi ndent < 1 evel ) 

770 

♦ DIR ~ 

900 

1 evel s=0 

780 

ELSE 

910 

WHILE levels<level 

790 

PRINT 

920 

VDU level (levels) 

BOO 

ENDIF 

930 

PRINT STRING* ( i ndent-1 , CHR*space) ; 

810 

ENDIF 

940 

level s+=l 

820 

UNTIL number 

950 

ENDWHILE 

830 

IF level THEN 

960 

ENDPROC 


Listing 4. Interrupt demonstration 

10 REM Arc Agora - listing 4 
20 REM Funny Fill 
30 REM by Dave Lawrence 
40 REM for Acrhimedes only 
50 REM (c) Acorn User August 1988 
60 : 

70 MODE 13 

80 VDU 23,128,1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128 
90 VDU 23,129,128,64,32,16,8,4,2,1 
100 PROCcode 

110 SYS "XOS_Rel ease" , &10, gcol , 10 
120 SYS "0S_C1 aim",&10,gcol, 10 
130 REPEAT 
140 CLS 
150 PRINT 

160 FOR pass7.= l TO 30 
170 VDU 32 
180 FOR J7.= l TO 38 
190 VDU 127+RND (2) 

200 NEXT 

210 PRINT 

220 NEXT 

230 *FX 14,4 

240 FILL 640,2 

250 *FX 13,4 

260 key=INKEY (200) 

270 UNTIL FALSE 
280 : 

290 DEF PROCcode 

300 DIM code"/. 500 

310 FOR pass7.=0 TO 2 STEP 2 

320 P7.=code7. 


See Joe’s Jottings, page 55 


Listing 1. Graph plotter 




10 REM Graphpack VI 

190 

. 


20 REM by Joe Telford 

200 

REPEAT 


30 REM for M/C 

210 

A7.=FNmove 


40 REM (c) Acorn User August 1988 

220 

IF A7.=ASC("C"> 

THEN PROCcat 

50 : 

230 

IF A7.=ASC("S") 

THEN PROCsave 

60 MODE 129 

240 

IF A7.=ASC("L") 

THEN PROCI oad 

70 PROCsetup 

250 

IF A7.=ASC("D") 

THEN PROCdel ete 

80 movetype*=" " 

260 

IF A7.= 149 THEN 

PROCnewsheet 

90 CLS 

270 

IF A7.= 150 THEN 

PROCtitle 

100 PROCshowwindow (0) 

280 

IF A7.= 151 THEN 

PROCI egend 

110 PROCcl 

290 

IF A7.= 152 THEN 

PRDCdata 

120 COLOUR 128 

300 

IF A7.= 153 THEN 

PROCkey 

130 COLOUR 2s PRINTTAB (5, 0) "The Joe's J 

310 

IF A7.= 154 THEN 

PROCdrawpi 

ottings Graph Pack!"; 

320 

IF A7.= 155 THEN 

PROCdrawbar 

140 COLOUR 1: PRINTTAB (10, 3) "Press SPAC 

330 

IF A7.= 156 THEN 

PROCdrawl ine 

E to begin" 

340 

UNTIL A7.=ASC("Q") 

150 REPEAT UNTIL GET=32 

350 

: 


160 : 

360 

PROCmessC'Do you really want to en 

170 ON ERROR PROCerr 

d? Y/N "> 


1 80 z 7.=&90A : 0"/.=8<2O2O9 

370 

REPEAT 

Continued ► 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


330 COPT passX 
340 . gcol 

350 STMFD R13! , CRO, R7, RB, R9, R14> 

360 LDR R7, count 

370 SUBS R7, R7, #1 

380 BPL nope 

390 MOV R7, R12 

400 MOV R9, PC 

410 ORR RB, R9, #3 

420 TEQP R8, #0 

430 MOVNV RO, RO 

440 STMFD R13!,CR14> 

450 SWI &100+18 
460 SWI &100+0 
470 LDR RO, col 
480 ADD RO, RO, #1 
490 AND RO, RO, #63 
500 STR RO, col 
510 SWI "OS_Wri teC" 

520 LDMFD R13!,CR14> 

530 TEQP R9, #0 

540 MOVNV RO, RO 

550 .nope 

560 STR R7, count 

570 LDMFD R13 ! , {RO, R7, R8, R9, PC> 

580 .col 

590 EQUD 0 

600 .count 

610 EQUD 1 

620 1 : NEXT 

630 ENDPROC 



liLLOWPAGESf - 

JOE’S JOTTINGS 


◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 1 continued 

380 A$=CHR$ (GET AND 223) 

390 UNTIL A$="Y" OR A$="N" 

400 IF A*="N" THEN GOTO 170 

410 *FX 4 

420 MODE 128 

430 END 

440 s 

450 DEF PROCnewsheet 

460 PROCmess < "Do you really want to re 
set everything? Y/N") 

470 REPEAT 

480 A$=CHR$ (GET AND 223) 

490 UNTIL A*="Y" OR A$="N" 

500 IF A$="N" THEN PROCmess (""): ENDPRO 
C 

510 CLEAR 
520 RUN 
530 END 
540 : 

550 DEF PROCerr 
560 VDU 3 
570 *FX 15,0 
580 VDU 7 

590 IF ERR=17 THEN movetype$=" ": PROCc 1 
: PROCmess ("Last action cancel 1 ed !■■ PI eas 
e cont i nue. " ) s VDU 7: A$=INKEY$ (300) : PROCm 
ess ( " ") sENDPROC 

600 IF ERR=190 THEN PROCcl : PROCmess ( "C 
an't save: cat full - change disc!" ): VDU 
7 : A$=INKEY$ (300) : PROCmess ( " ") sENDPROC 
610 IF ERR=179 THEN PROCc 1 : PROCmess ( "C 
an't savesdir full - change disc!"):VDU 
7: A$=INKEY$ (300) : PROCmess ( " " ) : ENDPROC 
620 IF ERR=198 THEN PROCc 1 : PROCmess ( "C 
an’t save: disc full - change disc!" ): VDU 
7: A$=INKEY$ (300) : PROCmess ( " " ) : ENDPROC 
630 PROCmess ("") 

640 PRINT TAB (0, 0) ;: REPORT: PRINT; ERR; " 
at line "ERL; : 

650 VDU 7 

660 A$=INKEY$ (500) 

670 ENDPROC 
680 : 

690 DEF PROCcat 
700 COLOUR 3 
710 COLOUR 128 
720 CLS 
730 PRINT 
740 *DIR S 
750 ♦CAT 
760 *DIR $ 

770 : 

780 PROCmess ("files available:- ") 

790 PRINT TAB (0, 1) "Press space to retu 
rn" 

800 REPEAT UNTIL GET=32 
810 CLS 

820 PROCshowwindow (lxp7.) 

830 PROCcl 
840 ENDPROC 
850 : 

860 DEF PROCdel ete 
870 REPEAT 

880 PROCmess ("delete file:- ") 

890 f*=FNgpi (7, 0, cap$+l ow*+nos$) 

900 IF f$="" THEN PROCcat 
910 UNTIL f$>"" 

920 ch7.=0PENUP("S. "+f*) 

930 CLOSE# ch7 

940 IF ch7.=0 THEN PROCmess ( "Can ' t find 
that file."): VDU 7: A$=INKEY$ (500) : PROCm 
ess ( " " ) : ENDPROC 

950 OSCL I ("REMOVE S. "+f *) 

960 OSCL I ("REMOVE N. "+f ♦) 


970 PROCmess ( "Del eted ! ") 

980 A$=INKEY$ (300) 

990 PROCmess ("" ) 

1000 ENDPROC 
1010 : 

1020 DEF PROCsave 
1030 REPEAT 

1040 PROCmess ("Save as filename:- ") 

1050 f $=FNgpi (7, 0, cap$+l ow$+nos$) 

1060 IF f*="" THEN PROCcat 
1070 UNTIL f*>"" 

1080 ch7.=0PENUP("S. "+f$> 

1090 IF chXOO THEN CLOSE# ch7.: PROCmess 
("That file exists"): VDU 7: A$=INKEYS (500 
) : PROCmess ( " " ) : ENDPROC 
1100 ch7=0PEN0UT ("S. "+f $) 

1110 PROCmess ("Saving please wait" 

) 

1120 FOR x=0 TO max 
1130 FOR y=0 TO max 
1140 PRINT# ch7.,A$(x,y) 

1150 NEXT 
1160 NEXT 
1170 CLOSE# ch7. 

1180 ch7.=0PEN0UT ("N. "+f$) 

1190 FOR x=0 TO max 
1200 FOR y=0 TO max 
1210 PRINT# ch7.,A(x,y) 

1220 NEXT 
1230 NEXT 
1240 CLOSE# ch7. 

1250 PROCmess ("Saved ! ") 

1260 A$=INKEY$ (300) 

1270 PROCmess ("" ) 

1280 ENDPROC 
1290 : 

1300 DEF PROCload 
1310 REPEAT 

1320 PROCmess ("load filename:- ") 

1330 f$=FNgpi (7, 0, cap$+l ow*+nos*> 

1340 IF f$="" THEN PROCcat 
1350 UNTIL f$>"" 

1360 ch7.=0PENUP ( "S. "+f $) 

1370 IF ch7.=0 THEN CLOSE# ch7.: PROCmess ( 
"Can't find that file."): VDU 7:A*=INKEY$ 
(500) : PROCmess ( " " ) : ENDPROC 

1380 PROCmess ("Loading please wait 

"> 

1390 FOR x=0 TO max 

1400 FOR y=0 TO max 

1410 INPUT# ch7.,A*(x,y> 

1420 NEXT 

1430 NEXT 

1440 CLOSE# ch7 

1450 ch7.=0PENUP ( "N. "+f$) 

1460 FOR x=0 TO max 

1470 FOR y=0 TO max 

14B0 INPUT# ch7.,A(x,y) 

1490 NEXT 
1500 NEXT 
1510 CLOSE# ch7. 

1520 xp7.=0:yp7.=0 

1530 1 xp7.=0 

1540 PROCshowwindow (0) 

1550 PROCcl 
1560 ENDPROC 
1570 : 

1580 DEF PROCbmess (t$) 

1590 COLOUR 2 
1600 COLOUR 128 

1610 PRINT TAB (0, 31 ) ; STRINGS (39, " "); 

1620 PRINT TAB (0, 31 ) ; t$; 

1630 ENDPROC 
1640 : 

Continued ^ 


88 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


YELLO W RASES 

JOE'S JO TTIHGS 


◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 1 continued 

1650 DEF PROCprinti t (sx , ex , ey) 

1660 *FX 3,10 
1670 VDU 2,1,15 
1680 PRINT 
1690 PRINT " — »; 

1700 FOR x=sx TO ex 

1710 PRINT " i-";LEFT*(col*(x) ,8) ; 

1720 NEXT 

1730 PRINT \ 

1740 FOR y=0 TO yend 

1750 VDU 1,15 

1760 IF y< 10 PRINT " " ; 

1770 @7.=z7. 

1780 PRINT ; y; 

1790 @7.=&20209 
1800 FOR x=sx TO ex 
1810 PRINT colchar*; 

1820 IF LEFT*(A*(x,y) , 1 ) < >CHR*34 THEN P 
RINT A (x , y ) ; : GOTO 1850 
1830 IF A*(x,y)=CHR*34 THEN PRINT SPCC9 
) ; s GOTO 1850 

1840 IF A*(x,y) >CHR*34 THEN PRINT MID*( 
A$(x,y) ,2,LENA*(x,y) ) ; SPC ( 10-LEN ( A* <x , y) 
) ) ; ELSE PRINT A(x,y) ; 

1850 NEXT 
1860 PRINT 
1870 NEXT 
1880 VDU 3 
1890 *FX 3,4 
1900 ENDPROC 
1910 : 

1920 DEF PROCmess (t*) 

1930 COLOUR 128 
1940 COLOUR 3 

1950 PRINT TAB (0,0) $ STRING* (200, " "); 
1960 PRINT TAB (0, 0) ; t*; 

1970 ENDPROC 
1980 s 

1990 DEF PROCshowwindow (nxp7.) 

2000 COLOUR 3 

2010 COLOUR 128 

2020 PROCdrawaxes (nxpX*4, 0) 

2030 PROCdrawwindow (nxp7.*4, 0) 

2040 ENDPROC 
2050 : 

2060 DEF PROCdrawaxes (x , y) 

2070 PRINT TAB (0,5) ; "JJ*! " ; 

2080 FOR 1 oop7.-x TO x+3 
2090 PRINT col*(loop7.) ; 

2100 NEXT 

2110 FOR loop7.=y TO y+24 

2120 PRINT TAB (0,1 oop7-y+6) ; row$ (1 oop7) 

2130 NEXT 

2140 PROCrcmess 

2150 ENDPROC 

2160 s 

2170 DEF PROCrcmess 

2180 IF recalc-f 1 ag=0 PROCbmess ( "Manual 
Recalc") : ELSE PROCbmess ( "Auto Recalc") 
2190 ENDPROC 
2200 : 

2210 DEF PROCdrawwi ndow (x , y ) 

2220 LOCAL yl7.,xl7.,d* 

2230 VDU 28,4,30,39,6,12,26 

2240 COLOUR 128 

2250 FOR yl7.=0 TO 24 

2260 FOR x 1 V,=0 TO 3 

2270 PRINT TAB(4+xl7.*9,yl7.+6) ; 

2280 IF LEFT*(A*(x+xl7.,yl7.) , 1)=CHR*34 T 
HEN COLOUR 3:PRINT MID* ( A* (x+x 1 7., yl 7.) , 2, 
9) ; : NEXT: NEXT: ENDPROC 
2290 IF LEFT*(A*(x+xl7.,yl7.) , 1 ) < >CHR*34 
AND A*(x+xl7.,yl7.) >"" THEN COLOUR 2: ELSE 
COLOUR 1 


2300 PRINT A(x+xl7.,yl7.) ; 

2310 NEXT 
2320 NEXT 
2330 ENDPROC 
2340 : 

2350 DEF PROCcl 
2360 COLOUR 0 

2370 IF LEFT*(A*(xp7.,yp7.) , 1)=CHR*<34> T 
HEN COLOUR 131 SPRINT TAB((xp7. MOD 4) *9+4 
, yp7.+6) ; SPC (9) ; TAB ( (xp7. MOD 4)*9+4,ypX+6 
) ;MID*(A*(xp7.,yp7.) ,2,9) ENDPROC 
2380 IF LEFT*(A*(xp7.,yp7.) , 1 ) < >CHR*34 AN 
D A*(xp7.,yp7.) >"" THEN COLOUR 130: PRINT t 
AB((xp7. MOD 4) *9+4, yp7+6) ; SPC (9) ; TAB < txp 
7. MOD 4)*9+4,yp7-+6) A(xp7.,yp7.) ; .-ENDPROC 
2390 COLOUR 129 

2400 PRINT TAB ( (xp7. MOD 4) *9+4, yp7.+6) i 6 
PC (9) ; TAB ( (xp% MOD 4) *9+4, yp7.+6) A (xpX, yp 
•/-); 

2410 ENDPROC 
2420 : 

2430 DEF PR0Cc2 

2440 COLOUR 128: PRINT TAB((xp7. MOD 4) *9 
+4, yp7.+6) ; SPC (9) ; 

2450 PRINT TAB ( (xp7 MOD 4) *9+4, yp7.+6> | 
2460 IF LEFT*(A$(xp7.,yp7.) , 1 ) =CHR*34 THE 
N COLOUR 3: PRINT MID* ( A* <xp7., ypX) , 2, 9) f I 
ENDPROC 

2470 IF LEFT*(A*(xp7.,yp7.) , 1 ) < >CHR*34 AN 
D A*(xp7.,yp7.) >"" THEN COLOUR 2: ELSE COLO 
UR 1 

2480 PRINT A(xp7.,yp7.) ; 

2490 ENDPROC 
2500 : 

2510 DEF FNmove 
2520 *FX 4, 1 

2530 IF movetype*=" " THEN PRQCfshow 
2540 A7.=GET 
2550 B7.= l 

2560 IF INKEY-1 THEN B7.=2 
2570 IF INKEY-2 THEN B7.=3 
2580 PR0Cc2 

2590 IF A7.= 139 THEN PROCup (B7.) 

2600 IF A7.= 138 THEN PROCdown(BX) 

2610 IF A7.= 1 36 THEN PR0C1 e-Ft (B7.) 

2620 IF A7.= 137 THEN PROCr i ght (B7.) 

2630 PROCcl 
2640 =A7. 

2650 : 

2660 DEF PROCf show 

2670 IF LEFT*(A*(xp7.,yp7.) , 1 ) < >CHR*34 AN 
D A*(xp7.,yp7.) >"" THEN PROCmess ( "Formul a 
:= "+A* (xp7., yp7.) ) : ELSE PROCmess ("") 

2680 ENDPROC 
2690 : 

2700 DEF PROCup (b) 

2710 IF b=3 THEN yp7.=0: ENDPROC 
2720 IF b=2 THEN yp7.=yp7.-4 ELSE yp7.*yptl 
-1 

2730 IF yp7.<0 THEN yp7.=0 
2740 ENDPROC 
2750 : 

2760 DEF PROCdown (b ) 

2770 IF b=3 THEN yp7.=max : ENDPROC 
2780 IF b=2 THEN yp7.=yp7.+4 ELSE yp7.=ypX 
+ 1 

2790 IF yp7.>max THEN yp7.=max 
2800 ENDPROC 
2810 : 

2820 DEF PROCleft(b) 

2830 IF b=3 THEN xp7.=0: nxp7.=0 
2840 IF (b=3) AND ( 1 xp7.=nxp7.) THEN ENDP 
ROC 

2850 IF (b=3) AND ( 1 xp7.< >nxp7-) PROCshow 

Continued ^ 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


89 



YELLOW PAGES 

JOE'S JOTTINGS 


◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 1 continued 

window (nxp7.) s 1 xp7.=nxp7.s ENDPROC 
2860 IF b=2 THEN xp7.=xp7.-4: ELSE xp7.=xp7. 
-1 

2870 IF xp7.<0 THEN xp7.=0 
2880 nxp7.= (xp7. DIO 4) 

2890 IF 1 xp7.=nxp7. THEN ENDPROC 
2900 PROCshowwindow (nxpX) 

2910 Ixp7.=nxp7. 

2920 ENDPROC 
2930 : 

2940 DEF PROCright (b) 

2950 IF b=3 THEN xp7.=max : nxp7.=xp7. DIV 4 
2960 IF (b=3) AND ( 1 xp7.=nxp7.) THEN ENDP 
ROC 

2970 IF <b=3) AND ( 1 xp7.< >nxp7.) PROCshow 
window (nxpX) : Ixp7.=nxp7.s ENDPROC 
2980 IF b=2 THEN xp7.=xp7.+4 ELSE xp7.=xp7. 
+ 1 

2990 IF xp7->max THEN xp7.=max 
3000 nxp7.= (xp7. DIV 4) 

3010 IF Ixp7.=nxp7. THEN ENDPROC 
3020 PROCshowwindow (nxpX) 

3030 Ixp7.=nxp7. 

3040 ENDPROC 
3050 s 

3060 DEF FNgpi ( 1 en , e-f -f ect , val i d* ) 

3070 LOCAL a*,b 
3080 a*=" " 

3090 PRINT STRING* (len, "."); STRING* (len 
, CHR* (8) ) ; 

3100 *FX 20,1 
3110 b=GET 

3120 IF b=13 THEN =a* 

3130 IF b = 127 AND a*="" THEN 3110 
3140 IF b=127 a*=LEFT* (a*, LEN (a*) -1 ) s PR 
INT CHR*b; " . " ; CHR* (8) ; : GOTO 3110 
3150 IF e-f -Fect=0 THEN 3180 
3160 IF e-f -f ect=l b=b AND 223 ELSE b=b 0 
R 32 

3170 IF e-f -f ect=3 AND (RIGHT* (a*, 1 ) = " " 0 
R a*=" " ) b=b AND 223 
3180 IF LEN (a*) =1 en OR INSTR ( val i d*, CHR 
*b ) =0 VDU 7s GOTO 3110 
3190 PRINT CHR*b; 

3200 a*=a*+CHR*b 
3210 GOTO 3110 
3220 s 

3230 DEF PROCval i d 

3240 cap*=" ABCDEFGHI JKLMNQPQRSTUVWXYZ 1 ' 
3250 low*=" abcdef ghi jkl mnopqrstuvwxyz " 
3260 nos*="-. 0123456789" 

3270 pun*=" J'liyt ! ()=?/*:+;. ,<>" + 

CHR*34 

3280 al 1 *=cap*+l ow*+nos*+pun* 

3290 ENDPROC 
3300 : 

3310 DEF PROCsetup 
3320 max=24 

3330 DIN A* (max +4, max ) , col * (max +4) , row* 
(max ) , A (max , max ) 

3340 DIM title* (3) 

3350 FOR xloop7.=0 TO max +4 
3360 FOR yloop7.=0 TO max 
3370 A* (x I oop 7., yl oop7.) =CHR* (34) 

3380 NEXT 
3390 NEXT 

3400 FOR 1 oop7.=0 TO 9 

3410 col*(loop7.)="-Col "+STR* ( 1 oopX) 

-I" 

3420 NEXT 

3430 FOR loop7.= 10 TO max+4 

3440 col * ( 1 oop%) ="-Col "+STR*(loop7.)+"- 

i H 
i 

3450 NEXT 


3460 FOR 1 oop7.=0 TO 9 

3470 row* ( 1 oopX) =" . • "+STR* (loop7.) +" ! " 

3480 NEXT 

3490 FOR loop7.= 10 TO max 

3500 row* (1 oop7.) = " . "+STR* ( 1 oop7.) +" ! " 

3510 NEXT 
3520 : 

3530 xp7.=0:yp7.=0 

3540 xmax7.=0s ymax7.=0s lxp7.=0 

3550 Isx7.=0:lsy7.=0 

3560 Iex7.=0:ley7.=0 

3570 s 

3580 DIM dsx7.(2) ,dex7.(2) ,dey7.(2) ,dsy7.(2 

) 

3590 dsx7. ( 1 ) =0s dsy7. ( 1 ) =0: dex7. ( 1 ) =0: dey7. 
( 1)=0 

3600 dsx7. (2) =0: dsy7. (2) =0: dex7. (2) =0: dey7. 

( 2 ) =0 

36 1 0 z 7-=07. : @7.=8<20209 

3620 recalcf 1 ag=FALSE 

3630 tKEY 0 T 

3640 *KEY 1 N 

3650 *KEY 2 F 

3660 *KEY 3 R 

3670 *KEY 4 C 

3680 *KEY 5 S 

3690 *KEY 6 L 

3700 *KEY 7 D 

3710 *KEY 8 P 

3720 *KEY 9 Q 

3730 *FX 226,140 

3740 *FX 227, 150 

3750 PROCval id 

3760 DIM max (2) ,r (2) ,c (2) ,min (2) , total ( 

2 ) 

3770 DIM 1 eg end* (24) , data (2, 24) , items (2 

) 

3780 items ( 1 ) =0: i terns (2) =0 
3790 DIM key* (2) 

3800 ENDPROC 
3810 s 

3820 DEF PROCdumpout 
3830 DIM P7.3,Q7.3 
3840 !P7.=&030 10000 
3850 !Q7. =*<030201 00 
3860 MOVE 0,0 

3870 VDU 29,0;0;2, 1,27, 1,65, 1,8, 1, 10 

3880 FOR Y7.= 1020 TO 12 STEP- 16 

3890 VDU 1,27,1,76,1,192,1,3 

3900 FOR X7.=0 TO 1276 STEP 4 

3910 A7.=0:B7.=0 

3920 FOR Z7.=0 TO 12 STEP 4 

3930 C7.=P0INT (X7., Y7.-Z7.) 

3940 A7.=A7.*4+PX?C7. 

3950 B7.=B7.*4+Q7.?C7. 

3960 NEXT 

3970 VDU 1, A7-, 1,B7., 1, A 7. 

3980 NEXT 
3990 VDU 1,10 
4000 NEXT 

4010 VDU 1,27, 1,64,3 
4020 ENDPROC 
4030 s 

4040 DEF PROCtitle 
4050 LOCAL loop7. 

4060 REPEAT 

4070 PROCmess ( "Please enter upto 3 titl 
e 1 i nes: " ) 

4080 FOR loop7.= l TO 3 
4090 @7.=z7. 

4100 PRINT TAB <0,1 oopX) ; loop 7.; " s " ; 

4110 @7.=*<20209 

4120 title* (loop7.)=FNgpi (38,0, all*) 

4130 next Continued ► 


90 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 



YELLO W PAGES 

JOE'S JOT TINGS 


◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 1 continued 

4140 PRINT TAB<0,4) ; "Is this O.K? (Y/N) 

• I ■ 

4150 okS=CHR$ (GET AND 223) 

4160 UNTIL ok$="Y" 

4170 PROCmess ( " " ) 

4180 ENDPROC 
4190 s 

4200 DEF PR0C1 egend 
4210 movetypeS="T" 

4220 Isx7.=0slsy7.=0 
4230 Iex7.=0sley7.=0 
4240 PROCmess ("Start legends") 

4250 PRINT TAB<0, 1) ; "Move to start of r 
ow/column" 

4260 PRINT "then press RETURN."; 

4270 REPEAT 
4280 A7.=FNmove 
4290 UNTIL A7.= 13 
4300 Isx7.=xp7.slsy7.=yp7. 

4310 PROCmess ("End legends") 

4320 PRINT TAB<0, 1) ; "Move to end o-f row 
/column" 

4330 PRINT "then press RETURN."; 

4340 REPEAT 
4350 A7.=FNmove 
4360 UNTIL A7.= 13 
4370 1 ex7.=xp7.s Iey7.=yp7. 

4380 IF Isx7->lex7. THEN sp=l sx7.s 1 sx7.=l ex 
7.s lex7.=sp 

4390 IF Isy7.>ley7. THEN sp=l sy7.s 1 sy7.=l ey 
7.s ley7.=sp 
4400 Ir=lex7.-lsx7. 

4410 Ic=ley7.-lsy7. 

4420 IF 1 r=0 AND lc=0 PROCmess ( "Legend 
can't be 1 slots Reselect !") s VDU 7sAS=IN 
KEYS (300) s PROCmess ( " " ) s ENDPROC 
4430 IF 1 r< >0 AND lc<>0 PROCmess ( "Legen 
d can't have rows & colss Resel ect !"): VD 
U 7s AS=INKEYS (300) s PROCmess ( " " ) s ENDPROC 
4440 IF ir=0 THEN PROCcopycols ELSE PRO 
Ccopyrows 

4450 PROCmess ( "Legend selected") 

4460 AS=INKEY$ (200) 

4470 PROCmess ("") 

4480 movetypeS="" 

4490 ENDPROC 
4500 s 

4510 DEF PROCcopycols 
4520 LOCAL loop7. 

4530 FOR loop7.=lsy7. TO ley7. 

4540 1 egend S ( 1 oop 7.- 1 sy 7. ) =M I D$ ( AS ( 1 sx 7. , 1 
oop7.) ,2,9) 

4550 IF AS(lsx7., 1 oop7.) =CHRS34 OR LEFTS ( 
AS(lsx7.,loop7.) , 1)<>CHR*(34) THEN legends 
( 1 oop7.-l sy7. ) =STRS ( A ( 1 sx 7. , 1 oop7. ) ) 

4560 NEXT 
4570 ENDPROC 
4580 s 

4590 DEF PROCcopyrows 
4600 LOCAL loop7. 

4610 FOR loop7.=lsx7. TO lex 7. 

4620 1 egen d S ( 1 oop 7.-1 sx 7. ) =M I DS ( AS ( 1 oop 7. , 
lsy7.) ,2,9) 

4630 IF AS ( 1 oop7., 1 sy7.) =CHRS34 OR LEFTS ( 
AS(loop7., Isx7.) , 1)<>CHRS(34) THEN legends 
( 1 oop7.-l sx7. ) =STRS (A(l oop7., 1 sy7.) ) 

4640 NEXT 
4650 ENDPROC 
4660 s 

4670 DEF PROCkey 
4680 LOCAL AS,gr 
4690 movetypeS="T" 

4700 PROCmess ("Key for graph 1 or 2? " ) 
4710 REPEAT 


4720 AS=GET$ 

4730 UNTIL AS="1" OR AS="2" 

4740 gr=VALAS 

4750 PROCmess ("Keys ") 

4760 PRINT TAB(0, 1) ; "Move to slot with 
key for Graph "+AS 
4770 PRINT "then press RETURN."; 

4780 REPEAT A7.=FNmove 
4790 UNTIL A7.= 13 

4000 keyS(gr)=MIDS(AS(xp7.,yp7.) ,2,9) 

4810 PROCmess ("Key for graph "+AS+" sel 
ected" ) 

4820 AS=INKEYS (200) 

4830 PROCmess ("") 

4840 movetypeS="" 

4850 ENDPROC 
4860 s 

4B70 DEF PROCdata 
4880 movetypeS="T" 

4890 PROCmess ("Is this data for graph 1 
or 2? ") 

4900 REPEAT 
4910 AS=GETS 

4920 UNTIL AS="1" OR AS="2" 

4930 PRINT AS 
4940 gr=VALAS 

4950 PROCmess ("Start Datas") 

4960 PRINT TAB (0, 1) ; "Move to start of r 
ow/column" 

4970 PRINT "then press RETURN."; 

4980 REPEAT 

4990 A7.=FNmove 

5000 UNTIL A7.= 13 

5010 dsx7. (gr ) =xp7.s dsy7. (gr ) =yp7. 

5020 PROCmess ( "End Datas") 

5030 PRINT TAB(0, 1) ; "Move to end of row 
/column" 

5040 PRINT "then press RETURN."; 

5050 REPEAT A7.=FNmove 
5060 UNTIL A7.= 13 
5070 dex7.(gr)=xp7. 

5080 dey7.(gr)=yp7. 

5090 IF dsx7.(gr) >dex7.(gr) THEN sp=dsx7.( 
gr ) s dsx7. (gr ) =dex7. (gr ) s dex7. (gr ) =sp 
5100 IF dsy7.(gr) >dey7.(gr) THEN sp=dsy7.( 
gr ) s dsy7. (gr ) =dey7. (gr ) s dey% (gr ) =sp 
5110 r (gr ) =dex7. (gr ) -dsx7. (gr ) 

5120 c (gr ) =dey7. (gr ) -dsy7. (gr ) 

5130 IF r (gr ) =0 AND c(gr)=0 PROCmess ("D 
ata can't be 1 slots Resel ect !") s VDU 7s A 
S=INKEY$ (300) s PROCmess ( " " ) s ENDPROC 
5140 IF r (gr ) < >0 AND c(gr)<>0 PROCmess ( 
"Data can't be rows & colss Resel ect !") s 
VDU 7 s AS= INKEYS (300) s PROCmess ("" ) : ENDPRO 
C 

5150 IF r (gr ) =0 THEN PROCcdcol s (gr ) ELS 
E PROCcdrows (gr ) 

5160 PROCmess ("Data for graph "+STRS(gr 
)+" selected") 

5170 AS=INKEYS (200) 

5180 PROCmess ("") 

5190 movetypeS="" 

5200 ENDPROC 
5210 s 

5220 DEF PROCcdcols (g) 

5230 LOCAL loop7. 

5240 FOR loop7.=dsy7.(g) TO dey7.(g) 

5250 data (g, 1 oop7-dsy7 (g ) ) =A (dsxX (g) , lo 
op 7.) 

5260 i terns (g ) =c (g ) 

5270 NEXT 
5280 ENDPROC 
5290 s 

5300 DEF PROCcdrows (g) 

Continued ► 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


91 



YELLOW PAGES 

JOE’S JOTTINGS 


◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 1 continued 

5310 LOCAL loop'/. 

5320 FOR loop"/.=dsx"/. (g) TO dex"/. (g) 

5330 data (g , loop’/.-dsx"/. (g) ) =A (loop'/., dsy'/. 
(g) ) 

5340 i terns (g) =r (g) 

5350 NEXT 
5360 ENDPROC 
5370 : 

5380 DEF PROCdrawbar 
5390 gr*=FNdrawwhat 
5400 PROCsort (gr*) 

5410 IF LEFT* (max$, 1 ) = "D" THEN PROCmess 
(max*) : VDU 7: A*=INKEY* (200) s ENDPROC 
5420 IF gr*="B" AND ( i terns ( 1 )< >i terns (2) 

) PROCmess ("Rows/cols of data must be sa 
me length") : VDU 7 : A*=INKEY* (300) : ENDPROC 
5430 IF gr*="B" AND (r(l)Or(2) OR c ( 1 ) 

< >c (2) ) THEN PROCmess ("Both graphs must 
be o-f col umns"+CHR* (10) +CHR* ( 13) +"or bot 
h must be o-f rows and"+CHR*10+CHR* ( 13) +" 
both sets o-f data must be of equal size" 

) : VDU 7: A*= INKEY* (300) : ENDPROC 
5440 IF maxr — minr=0 THEN PROCmess ( "Data 
missing for this graph - reselect !") :A$ 
=INKEY* (200) : ENDPROC 
5450 CLS 
5460 PROCaxis 
5470 PROCpti tl e 

5480 IF gr*="l" OR gr*="B" THEN PROCbar 
(1) 

5490 IF gr*="2" OR gr*="B" THEN PROCbar 
(2) 

5500 PROCcheckprintout 
5510 CLS 

5520 xp'/.=0s yp7.=0 

5530 lxp'/.=0 

5540 PROCshowwi ndow (0) 

5550 PROCcl 
5560 ENDPROC 
5570 : 

5580 DEF PROCbar (g) 

5590 COLOUR g+1 

5600 PRINT TAB (31 , 4+g) ; key* (g) ; 

5610 GCOL 0, g+1 
5620 LOCAL loop7. 

5630 FOR loop7.=0 TO i terns (g) 

5640 PROCrect ( 128+ ( x seal e/2) # (g-l)+loop 
"/.*xscale, 64-minr*yscale, xscale/2, data (g, 

1 oop"/.) *yscal e, 1 ) 

5650 NEXT 
5660 ENDPROC 
5670 s 

5680 DEF PROCcheckprintout 
5690 REPEAT 

5700 PRINT TAB (0,31) "P"j 
5710 A*=INKEY*(30) 

5720 PRINT TAB (0,31) " "; 

5730 IF A*="P" THEN PRINT TAB (0, 31 > " * " ; 

: PROCdumpout s UNTIL 0 
5740 IF A*>" " THEN 5770 
5750 A*=INKEY*(30) 

5760 IF A*="P" THEN PRINT TAB (0, 31 ) ; 

: PROCdumpout : UNTIL 0 
5770 UNTIL A*>"" 

5780 ENDPROC 
5790 s 

5800 DEF PROCdrawl i ne 
5810 gr*=FNdrawwhat 
5820 PROCsort (gr*) 

5830 IF LEFT * ( max * , 1 ) =» " D " THEN PROCmess 
(max*) : VDU 7s A*=INKEY* (200) s ENDPROC 
5840 IF gr*="B" AND (r(l)Or(2) OR c(l) 
< >c (2) ) THEN PROCmess ( "Both graphs must 
be of columns" +CHR* (10) +CHR* ( 13) +"or bot 


h must be of rows") : VDU 7: A*=INKEY* (300) 


s ENDPROC 

5850 IF gr*="B" AND ( i terns ( 1 )< >i terns (2) 

) PROCmess ("Rows/cols of data must be sa 
me length") s VDU 7: A*= INKEY* (300) s ENDPROC 
5860 IF maxr-minr = 0 THEN PROCmess ("Da 
ta missing for this graph - reselect!"): 


A*=INKEY* (200) s ENDPROC 
5870 CLS 
5880 PROCaxis 
5890 PROCpti tie 

5900 IF gr*=" 1 " OR gr*="B" THEN PROClin 
e ( 1 ) 

5910 IF gr*="2" OR gr*="B" THEN PROClin 
e (2) 

5920 PROCcheckprintout 
5930 CLS 

5940 xp7.=0:yp7.=0 

5950 lxp7.=0 

5960 PROCshowwi ndow (0) 

5970 PROCcl 
5980 ENDPROC 
5990 s 

6000 DEF PROCline(g) 

6010 COLOUR g+1 

6020 PRINT TAB (31, 4+g) ; key* (g) ; 

6030 GCOL 0, g+1 
6040 LOCAL loop7. 

6050 MOVE 128, (64-minr*yscale) +data (g, 0 


) *yscale 

6060 FOR 1 oop7.= l TO items (g) 

6070 DRAW 128+1 oop"/.*xscal e, (64-mi nr *ysc 
ale) +data (g, loop"/.) *yscale 
6080 NEXT 
6090 ENDPROC 
6100 s 

6110 DEF PROCdrawpi 
6120 gr*=FNdrawwhat 
6130 PROCsort (gr*) 

6140 IF LEFT* (max*, 1)="D" THEN PROCmess 
(max*) : VDU 7s A*=INKEY* (200) s ENDPROC 
6150 IF gr*="B" AND (r(l)Or(2) OR c(l> 
< >c (2) ) THEN PROCmess ("Both graphs must 
be of columns"+CHR* ( 10) +CHR* ( 13) +"or bot 
h must be of rows"): VDU 7s A*=INKEY* (300) 


s ENDPROC 

6160 IF maxr-minr=0 THEN PROCmess ( "Data 
missing for this graph - reselect !") s A* 

= INKEY* (200) s ENDPROC 
6170 CLS 
6180 PROCpti tl e 

6190 IF gr*=" 1 " OR gr*="B" THEN PROCpi ( 

1) 

6200 IF gr*="2" OR gr*="B" THEN PROCpi ( 

2 ) 

6210 PROCcheckprintout 
6220 CLS 

6230 xp7.=0syp"/.=0 

6240 lxp"/.=0 

6250 PROCshowwindow (0) 

6260 PROCcl 
6270 ENDPROC 
6280 s 

6290 DEF PROCpi (g) 

6300 LOCAL 1 oop"/., angl e, 1 astangl e, centre 
6310 centre=320+600* (g-1) 

6320 1 astangl e=90 

6330 FOR loop"/.=0 TO items (g) 

6340 MOVE centre, 500 

6350 MOVE centre+290*C0S (RAD (1 astangl e) 

) ,500+290*SIN (RAD (1 astangl e) ) 

6360 angle=lastangle+ABS (data (g, loop"/.) ) 
*360/total (g) 

6370 PROCef (loop"/.) 

Continued ^ 


92 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 



•YELLOW PAGES 

JOE'S J 0 T I I N 0 S 


<4 Joe’s Jottings listing 1 continued 



6380 

PLOT 181 , centre+290*C0S (RAD (angle) 

7080 

DEF PROCmax (n) 

) ,500+290*SIN (RAD (angle) ) 

7090 

total (n) =0 

6390 

1 astangl e=angl e 

7100 

FOR lp=0 TO i terns Cn) 

6400 

NEXT 

7110 

IF data (n, lp) >max <n) THEN max(n)=d 

6410 

GCOL 0, 1 

ata (n 

,lp> 

6420 

MOVE centre, 500 

7120 

IF data(n,lp)<min(n) THEN min(n)=d 

6430 

PLOT 149, centre, 794 

ata (n 

,lp) 

6440 

COLOUR g+1 

7130 

total (n) =total (n) +AB5 (data (n, lp ) ) 

6450 

PRINT TAB (5+20* <g-l ) , 27) ; key* (g) ; 

7140 

NEXT 

6460 

ENDPROC 

7150 

ENDPROC 

6470 

• 

7160 

8 

6480 

DEF PROCef(c) 

7170 

DEF PROCpti tl e 

6490 

IF INT (c/20) *20=c THEN RESTORE 

7180 

LOCAL loop/C 

6500 

LOCAL loopy. 

7190 

FOR loap-/.= l TO 3 

6510 

VDU 23 

7200 

PRINT TAB (20-LEN (title* (laapX) )/2, 

6520 

FOR loop7.=0 TO 8 

loopy.- 

-1) ; ti tl e* (loop*/.) 

6530 

READ d 

7210 

NEXT 

6540 

VDU d 

7220 

ENDPROC 

6550 

NEXT 

7230 

8 

6560 

GCOL 16* (c DIV 4) , c MOD 4 

7240 

DEF PROCaxis 

6570 

ENDPROC 

7250 

GCOL 0, 1 

6580 

• 

7260 

PROCrect ( 128, 64, 1024, 832,0) 

6590 

DATA 12,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 

7270 

IF minr>0 THEN minr=0 

6600 

DATA 12, 1,1, 1,1, 1,1, 1,1 

7280 

yscal e=832/ (maxr — mi nr ) 

6610 

DATA 12,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2 

7290 

FOR y=64 TO 896 STEP 64 

6620 

DATA 12,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 

7300 

@y.=z-/. 

6630 

: 

7310 

MOVE 1 152, ys DRAW 100, ys MOVE 0,y+16 

6640 

DATA 12,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1 

7320 

yval=INT ( ( (y-64) /yscale) *10+. 5+min 

6650 

DATA 12,0,2,0,2,0,2,0,2 

r* 10) /10 

6660 

DATA 12,0,3,0,3,0,3,0,3 

7330 

VDU 5 

6670 

DATA 12,0,1,1,0,0,1,1,0 

7340 

IF yval <10 AND yval >-10 THEN PRINT 

6680 

. 

; yval s ELSE PRINT ;INT(yval) 

6690 

DATA 13,0,2,2,0,0,2,2,0 

7350 

VDU 4 

6700 

DATA 13,0,3,3,0,0,3,3,0 

7360 

@y.=S<20209 

6710 

DATA 13,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2 

7370 

NEXT 

6720 

DATA 13,1,3,1,3,1,3,1,3 

7380 

GCOL 0,3 

6730 

. 

7390 

MOVE 100, 64-mi nr*yscal e 

6740 

DATA 14,1,2,2,1,1,2,2,1 

7400 

DRAW 1 180, 64-minr*yscal e 

6750 

DATA 14,1,3,3,1,1,3,3, 1 

7410 

GCOL 0, 1 

6760 

DATA 14,2,3,2,3,2,3,2,3 

7420 

IF (gr*=" 1 " OR gr*="B") AND c ( 1 ) =0 

6770 

DATA 14,2,3,3,2,2,3,3,2 

THEN 

i tems=r ( 1 ) 

6780 

: 

7430 

IF (gr*=" 1 " OR gr*="B") AND r(l)=0 

6790 

DATA 15,0,0, 1, 1,0,0, 1, 1 

THEN 

i tems=c ( 1 ) 

6800 

DATA 15,0,0,2,2,0,0,2,2 

7440 

IF (gr*="2" OR gr*="B") AND r(2)=0 

6810 

DATA 15,0,0,3,3,0,0,3,3 

THEN 

i tems=c (2) 

6820 

DATA 15,2,2,1,1,2,2,1,1 

7450 

IF (gr*="2" OR gr*="B") AND c(2)=0 

6830 

. 

THEN 

i tems=r (2) 

6840 

DEF FNdrawwhat 

7460 

x seal e= 1024/ (i tems+1 ) 

6850 

LOCAL A* 

7470 

FOR x=12B TO 1152 STEP xscal e 

6860 

PROCmess ( "Draw Graph 1, 2, or both 

7480 

0y.=z"/. 

? (1/2/B)") 

7490 

MOVE x , 48 

6870 

REPEAT 

7500 

VDU 5 

6880 

A*=GET* 

7510 

PRINT LEFT* (legend* < (x-12B)DIV xsc 

6890 

UNTIL INSTR ( " 12B" , A*) >0 

al e) , xscal e/32) ; 

6900 

PRINT A* 

7520 

VDU 4 

6910 

=A* 

7530 

@y.=&20209 

6920 

8 

7540 

MOVE x , 48 

6930 

DEF PROCsort (g*) 

7550 

DRAW x , 896 

6940 

max*=" " 

7560 

NEXT 

6950 

max ( 1 ) =0 

7570 

ENDPROC 

6960 

max (2) “0 

7580 

8 

6970 

min ( 1 ) =9999 

7590 

DEF PROCrect (x , y, 1 , w, -f ) 

6980 

min (2) =9999 

7600 

MOVE x , y 

6990 

IF g*="l" OR g*="B" PROCmax ( 1 ) 

7610 

DRAW x +1 , y 

7000 

IF g*="2" OR g*="B” PROCmax (2) 

7620 

IF f=0 DRAW x+1 , y+w ELSE PLOT 85, x 

7010 

IF max*< >" " THEN ENDPROC 

,y+w 


7020 

maxr=max (2) 

7630 

IF f =0 DRAW x , y+w ELSE PLOT 85, x+1 

7030 

IF max ( 1 ) >max (2) THEN maxr=max(l) 

,y+w 


7040 

minr=min (2) 

7640 

MOVE x,y+w 

7050 

IF min ( 1 Xmin (2) THEN minr=min(l) 

7650 

IF f=0 DRAW x , y ELSE MOVE x,y 

7060 

7070 

ENDPROC 

7660 

ENDPROC 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


93 



YELLOW PAGES 

See Network Page, page 129 


Listinq 1. Teletext f ileserver source code 





CMP #13 

10 

REM Teletext Files 

780 

STA beast, X 

1560 

LDA #$<A0 

2410 

erver 

source code 

790 

DEX 

1570 

LDY #0 

2420 

BNE checkstringloo 

20 

REM by Alistair Sh 

800 

BPL loop 

1580 

LDX #4 

P 

RTS 

i mmi n 

810 

RTS 

1590 

.cl ear loop 

2430 

30 

REM -for B/B+/M/C 

820 

. bcaststore 

1600 

STA (copy),Y 

2440 

. copyl ine 

40 

REM (c) Acorn User 

830 

OPT FNequd (&FFFFB5 

1610 

INY 

2450 

LDY #39 

Auaust 198B 

80) 

1620 

BNE cl ear loop 

2460 

. copyl inel oop 

50 

. 

840 

OPT FNequd <0) 

1630 

INC copy+1 

2470 

LDA (copy) , Y 

60 

vers$="Vers 2.0" 

850 

OPT FNequd (0) 

1640 

DEX 

2480 

STA (copy40) , Y 

70 

broadcasttime=50 

860 

. beast 

1650 

BNE clearloop 

2490 

DEY 

80 

osword=S<FFF 1 

870 

OPT FNequd (0) 

1660 

TXA 

2500 

BPL copyl inel oop 

90 

osby te=&FFF4 

880 

. header 

1670 

LDX #24 

2510 

INX 

100 

oswrch=$<FFEE 

890 

OPT FNequd (0) 

1680 

. f lagelear 

2520 

JMP add40 

1 1 0 

page^&^O 

900 

OPT FNequd (0) 

1690 

STA f 1 ag , X 

2530 

.zero 

120 

copybase=$<72 

910 

.time 

1700 

DEX 

2540 

LDA #0 

130 

copy40base=$<74 

920 

OPT FNequd (-broadc 

1710 

BPL f lagelear 

2550 

STA gotrowzero 

140 

subpage=$<76 

asttime) 

1720 

. disploop 

2560 

JSR setpointers 

150 

checkstring=$<78 

930 

OPT FNequb ($<FF) 

1730 

LDY #1 

2570 

LDY #10 

160 

copy=&7A 

940 

. set i nterval timer 

1740 

LDA (page) , Y 

2580 

. zeroloop 

170 

copy40=$<7C 

950 

LDX #t i me MOD 256 

1750 

CLC 

2590 

LDA (page) , Y 

180 

code7.=$<900 

960 

LDY #t i me DIV 256 

1760 

ADC gotrowzero 

2600 

ORA #$<80 

190 

• 

970 

LDA #4 

1770 

BEQ exit 

2610 

DEY 

200 

PROCcl ear mem 

980 

JMP osword 

1780 

LDA (page) , Y 

2620 

DEY 

210 

PROCassembl e 

990 

. i ni t 

1790 

BNE notzero 

2630 

STA (copy) , Y 

220 

PROCchecksum 

1000 

LDA $<220 

1800 

JMP zero 

2640 

INY 

230 

PRQCoscli ("SAVE co 

1010 

STA oldeventvector 

1810 

. notzero 

2650 

INY 

de 900 " + STR*' v '(end)+" " + 

1020 

LDA $<221 

1820 

STA row 

2660 

INY 

STR$~ 

Unit OR &FFFF0000) 

1030 

STA oldeventvector 

1830 

CMP #255 

2670 

CPY #43 

4" FFFF0900" ) 

+ 1 


1840 

BEQ exit 

2680 

BNE zeroloop 

240 

END 

1040 

LDA $<200 

1850 

CMP #24 

2690 

JMP skip 

250 

• 

1050 

STA ol duservector 

I860 

BCS skip 

2700 

. add42 

260 

DEF PROCassemble 

1060 

LDA $<201 

1870 

TAX 

2710 

LDA page 

270 
EP 3 

FOR pass=0 TO 3 ST 

1070 

1 

STA ol duservector* 

1880 

1890 

JSR setpointers 
. mul tl oop 

2720 

2730 

CLC 

ADC #42 

280 

P7.=code7. 

1080 

LDA #decode MOD 25 

1900 

JSR add40 

2740 

STA page 

290 

COPT pass 

6 


1910 

DEX 

2750 

LDA page+1 

300 

PHP 

1090 

STA $<200 

1920 

BNE mult loop 

2760 

ADC #0 

310 

CMP #5 

1100 

LDA #decode DIV 25 

1930 

LDY #1 

2770 

STA page+1 

320 

BNE notourevent 

6 


1940 

. copychar 

2780 

DEC rowcounter 

330 

PHA 

1110 

STA $<201 

1950 

INY 

2790 

RTS 

340 

TVA 

1120 

JSR seti nterval ti m 

1960 

LDA (page),Y 

2800 

. add40 

350 

PHA 

er 


1970 

QRA #$<80 

2810 

LDA copy40 

360 

TXA 

1130 

SEI 

1980 

DEY 

2820 

CLC 

370 

PHA 

1140 

LDA #code*/. MOD 256 

1990 

DEY 

2830 

ADC #40 

380 

JSR shiftbcast 

1150 

STA $<220 

2000 

STA (copy) , Y 

2840 

STA copy40 

390 

LDA #0 

1160 

LDA #code7. DIV 256 

2010 

CMP #8<BD 

2850 

LDA copy40+l 

400 

STA chan 

1170 

STA $<221 

2020 

BNE notdouble 

2860 

ADC #0 

410 

LDX ttchan MOD 256 

1180 

CLI 

2030 

LDX row 

2870 

STA copy40+l 

420 

LDY #chan DIV 256 

1190 

LDA #14 

2040 

DEC f 1 ag, X 

2880 

LDA copy 

430 

lDA #$7A 

1200 

LDX #5 

2050 

. notdouble 

2890 

CLC 

440 

JSR osword 

1210 

JMP osbyte 

2060 

INY 

2900 

ADC #40 

450 

LDA chan+1 

1220 

. setpointers 

2070 

INY 

2910 

STA copy 

460 

ORA #48 

1230 

LDA copybase 

2080 

CPY #41 

2920 

LDA copy+1 

470 

STA header 

1240 

STA copy 

2090 

BNE copychar 

2930 

ADC #0 

480 

INC header 

1250 

LDA copybase+1 

2100 

. skip 

2940 

STA copy+1 

490 

LDA &7C0F 

1260 

STA copy+1 

2110 

JSR add42 

2950 

RTS 

500 

STA header+1 

1270 

LDA copy40base 

2120 

BEQ exit 

2960 

. gotrowzero 

510 

LDA $<7C10 

1280 

STA copy40 

2130 

JMP disploop 

2970 

OPT FNequb (0) 

520 

STA header+2 

1290 

LDA copy40base+l 

2140 

.exit 

2980 

. rowcounter 

530 

LDA &7C1 1 

1300 

STA copy40+l 

2150 

JSR setpointers 

2990 

OPT FNequb (0) 

540 

STA header+3 

1310 

RTS 

2160 

LDX #0 

3000 

. row 

550 

LDX #bcast MOD 256 

1320 

. notourosword 

2170 

. correctl oop 

3010 

OPT FNequb (0) 

560 

LDY #bcast DIV 256 

1330 

PLP 

2180 

JSR add40 

3020 

.flag 

570 

LDA #$<10 

1340 

JMP (olduservector 

. 2190 

INX 

3030 

OPT FNequd (0) 

580 

JSR osword 

) 


2200 

LDA f 1 ag , X 

3040 

OPT FNequd (0) 

590 

JSR setinterval tim 

1350 

. decode 

2210 

BEQ nodouble 

3050 

OPT FNequd (0) 

er 


1360 

PHP 

2220 

JSR copyline 

3060 

OPT FNequd (O 

600 

PLA 

1370 

CMP #$<E0 

2230 

. nodouble 

3070 

OPT FNequd (0) 

610 

TAX ' 

1380 

BNE notourosword 

2240 

CPX #23 

3080 

OPT FNequd (0) 

620 

PLA 

1390 

PLP 

2250 

BCC correctloop 

3090 

OPT FNequd (0) 

630 

TAY 

1400 

LDA #34 

2260 

LDY #12 

3100 

. end 

640 

PLA 

1410 

STA rowcounter 

2270 

LDA ($<AB) , Y 

3110 

: 

650 

. notourevent 

1420 

STX $<AB 

2280 

PHA 

3120 

NEXT pass 

660 

PL P 

1430 

STY $<A9 

2290 

INY 

3130 

ENDPROC 

670 

JMP (oldeventvecto 

1440 

LDY #2 

2300 

LDA ($<AB),Y 

3140 

: 

r) 


1450 

LDX #0 

2310 

LDY #1 

3150 

DEF FNequb (b7.) 

680 

. ol deventvector 

1460 

. transf erl oop 

2320 

STA (subpage), Y 

3160 

?P7.=b7. 

690 

OPT FNequw (0) 

1470 

LDA ($<A8),Y 

2330 

PLA 

3170 

P7.=P7.+ 1 

700 

. olduservector 

1480 

STA $-.70, X 

2340 

DEY 

3 1 80 

=pass 

710 

OPT FNequw (0) 

1490 

INX 

2350 

STA (subpage) , Y 

3190 

: 

720 

. chan 

1500 

INY 

2360 

LDY #14 

3200 

DEF FNequw (b7.) 

730 

OPT FNequw (0) 

1510 

CRY #12 

2370 

. checkstr i ngl oop 

3210 

?P7.»b7. MOD 256 

740 

. shi f tbcast 

1520 

BNE transf erloop 

2380 

LDA ($<AB) , Y 

3220 

P7.?l=b7. DIV 256 

750 

LDX #11 

1530 

LDA #1 

2390 

STA (checkstring), 

3230 

py.=py.+2 

760 

. 1 oop 

1540 

STA gotrowzero 

Y 

INY 

3240 

=pass 

770 

LDA bcaststore,X 

1550 

JSR setpointers 

2400 

3250 

Continued ► 


94 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


YELLOW PAGES 

NETWORK PAGE 


Network Page listing 1 continued 

3260 DEF FNequd(b7.) 

3270 !P*=b* 

3280 P*=P*+4 
3290 =pass 
3300 : 

3310 DEF PROCoscli (stri 
ng$) 

3320 DIM X* &FF 


3330 Y*«X* DIV 256 
3340 $ X7.=str i ng$ 

3350 CALL ?<FFF7 
3360 ENDPROC 
3370 : 

3380 DEF F'ROCcl ear mem 
3390 FOR I7.=8<900 TO &AF 
E 


3400 ?I7.=0 
3410 NEXT 17. 

3420 ENDPROC 
3430 : 

3440 DEF PROCchecksum 
3450 C=0 

3460 FOR I7.=8/900 TO &AF 
E 


3470 C=C+? ( 17. ) 

3480 NEXT 17. 

3490 IF C< >52811 THEN P 
RINT “Check 1 i st i ng . " : EN 
D 

3500 ENDPROC 


Listing 2. Teletext fileserver 


10 REM TFS Network teletext server 
20 REM by Alistair Shimmin 
30 REM -for BBC B/B+/M 
40 REM (c) Acorn User August 19B8 
50 : 

60 versi on$="2. 0" 

70 binvers*=2*16+0 
80 server$= "TELETEXT" 

90 server inport=&B3: serveroutport=&B2 
100 pageport=&B4 
110 f indserverport^&BO 
120 serverresponseport=&Bl 
130 

140 ON ERROR GOTO 5070 
150 *FX 200, 1 

160 X7.=0: Y*®255: A*=&EA: tube*= (USR (&FFF4 ) AN 
D &FFOO) >0 
170 *FX 20 

180 X7.=0: Y7.=255s A7.=8tB4:oshwm7.=USR(S<FFF4) AN 
D &FF00 

190 IF tube7. THEN space7.=&7800--oshwm7. ELSE 
space*=HIMEM-T0P-&1900 

200 maxchanpage*=space*/&594 

210 IF maxchanpage7.>20 THEN maxchanpage*=20 

220 MODE 7 

230 ODU 28,0,24,39,2 

240 DIM logon* 16, t i medout7. 10,data7. &40,nu 
m* <4) , ti me7. (4) , stati on* (4, 20) , page/C (4,20) , mes 
sage7. &50, mem* (20) , rec7. <20 ) , assocpage7. (20) , us 
ed* (20) , reef 1 ag* (20) , rol 1 f 1 ag* <4, 20) , request t 
ime* (4,20) , starttime7. (20) 

250 DIM requestpriori ty7. (4, 20) , bl k7. &30 

260 dummy7.=&0FFFFFFF 

270 READ roll time 

280 request7.=0 

290 FOR I7.= l TO 4 

300 READ ti me* ( 17.) 

310 requestpr i on ty7. (17., 1 ) =dummy* 

320 NEXT 

330 ODU 23, 1 , 0; 0; 0; 0; 

340 IF tube?'. THEN copy=oshwm*: buf f *=copy+&4 
00 ELSE DIM buff* &594* (maxchanpage*) , copy &4 

00 

350 PROCimt 

360 7 bl k*=5 

370 bl k7.? 1=255 

380 X*=blk*:Y*=X% DIV 256 

390 A7.=&13: CALL osword 

400 queue*=0 

410 *TTXON 

420 *HON 

430 <CH 1 

440 T I ME=0 

450 PRGCgett i meanddate 
460 PROCsetrows (30) 

470 *RUN CODE 

480 B*=FNsetuprx (server i nport , 0, message7., &5 

0) 

490 BB7.= s FNsetuprx ( -f i ndserverport , 0, 1 ogon7., 8 

) 

500 Ch*=l 
510 REPEAT 

520 Ch*=FNnextchannel 
530 PROCi ni tnewchannel 
540 REPEAT 
550 PROCnetwork 
560 PROCtel etex t 

570 IF TIME>startti me7. (rec7. < 1 ) ) +time* (Ch7.) 
THEN FROCtoolong 

580 UNTIL <FNnextchannelOCh7.) OR ((TIME-las 
t update* >60*60* 100) AND queue*=0> 

590 IF TIME-1 ast update* >60* 60* 100 THEN PROC 


gettimeanadate 
600 UNTIL FALSE 
610 END 
620 : 

630 DEF PROCi ni tnewchannel 
640 PROCoscli ( "CH"+STR$ (Ch7.) ) 

650 PROCclear 
660 FOR I7.=0 TO 20 
670 reef 1 ag7. (17.) =0 
680 assoepage* ( I*) =0 
690 used* (17.) =0 
700 NEXT 

710 IF num7.(Ch7.) >0 THEN PROCsetuprecords 
720 ENDPROC 
730 : 

740 DEF FNf reerecord (testp*) 

750 match*=FALSE 
760 -f r7.=- 1 
770 REPEAT 
780 f r*=f r*+l 

790 IF assoepage* (-f r*) =testp* THEN match*=T 
RUE: matchpage*=f r* 

800 UNTIL match*=TRUE OR f r*=maxchanpage* 
810 IF match*=TRUE THEN =matchpage* 

820 -f r 7.=- 1 
830 REPEAT 
840 f r*=f r*+l 

850 UNTIL used* <f r7.) =0 OR -f r*=maxchanpage* 
860 IF f r*<maxchanpage* THEN =fr* 

870 f r*=- 1 

880 REPEAT 

890 f r*=f r*+l 

900 UNTIL red lag*(fr*)=0 

910 =fr* 

920 : 

930 DEF PROCtool ong 

940 IF num* (Ch*) =0 THEN ENDPROC 

950 $ (timedout*) ="Timed out" 

960 PROCtx (pageport , &81 , station* (Ch*, 1 ) , tim 
edout*, 10) 

970 PROCreorder ( 1 , Ch*) 

980 ENDPROC 
990 : 

1000 DEF FNnextchannel 
1010 chosen*=dummy* 

1020 nextchan*=FNchannel 
1030 FOR f indlowest*=l TO 4 

1040 IF requestpriority* (-f indlowest*, lXchos 
en* THEN chosen*=requestpri or i ty* (f indlowest* 
, 1 ) : nextchan*=f indlowest* 

1050 NEXT 
1060 -nextehan* 

1070 : 

1080 DEF PROCsetuprecords 
1090 FOR R*=l TO num*(Ch*) 

1 100 resul t*=FNal ready (R7.-1 , page* (Ch*, R7.) ) 
1110 IF resul t*=-l THEN PROCuni que (R7.) ELSE 
PROCnotuni que <R*, result*) 

1120 NEXT 
1130 ENDPROC 
1140 : 

1150 DEF PROCunique (U7.) 

1 160 f ree*=FNf reerecord (page* (Ch*, U*) ) 

1170 rec* (U7.) =-f ree* 

1180 starttime* (-free*) =TIME 

1190 reef 1 ag* (f ree*) =recf 1 ag* (free*) +1 

1200 mem* (U*) =buf f *+&594#f ree* 

1210 PROCsetuprecord (page* (Ch*, U*) , f ree*, buf 
f*+&594*free*) 

1220 ENDPROC 
1230 : 

1240 DEF PROCnotuni que (U*, L7.) 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


95 


YELLOW PAGESr 

NETWORK PAGE 


4 Network listing 2 continued 

J250 rec‘/.(UX)=rec7.(L7.) 

1260 rec- flag'/. (rec7. (L7.) ) =recf lag'/, (rec’/. (L7.) ) +1 
1270 mem7. (U7.) =buf f X+&594 *recX (L7.) 

1280 ENDPROC 
1290 : 

1300 DEF FNal ready (maxX,pX> 

1310 IF max 7.-0 THEN =-l 
1320 alreadyX=FALSE 
1330 lookX=0 
1340 REPEAT 
1350 lookX=lookX+l 

1360 IF page7.(Ch7.,look7.)=p7. THEN alreadyX=TR 
UE 

1370 UNTIL look7.=max7. OR al readyX=TRUE 
1380 IF aiready7.=TRUE =lookX 
1390 =-l 
1400 s 

1410 DEF PROCtel etex t 

1420 IF num7.<Ch7.) >0 THEN PROCpagetest 

1430 ENDPROC 

1440 s 

1450 DEF PROCpagetest 
1460 R7.=0 
1470 REPEAT 
1480 RX=RX+1 

1490 statusX^FNreadrecordf 1 ag (recX(RX) > 

1500 IF (status7. AND 2>«2 THEN PROCtransmi tp 

age 

1510 UNTIL RX>=numX(ChX> 

1520 ENDPROC 
1530 s 

1540 DEF PROCtransmi tpage 

1550 IF ( (TIME-requesttimeX(ChX,RX) >/timeX(C 
h^Xrol ltime) AND rol 1 f 1 ag7. (Ch7., R7.) THEN ENDP 
ROC 

1560 update7.*»TIME 
1370 REPEAT 

1380 recordf 1 agX“FNreadrecor df 1 ag (recX (RX) ) 
1590 UNTIL (record-f lag7. AND 4)=0 OR TIME>upd 
ateX+50 

1600 PROCsetrecord-f lag <rec7. (R7.) , r ecord-f 1 ag7. 
OR 1) 

1610 PROCdispl ay (mem7. <R7.) ) 

1620 PRINT’ FNst at ion (stat i on7. (Ch7., R7.) ) ;TAB(8 
) M . . Recei vi ng page " ; pageX (ChX, RX) ; " on ";Ch7. 

i'V"; 

1630 PROCsetrecord-f 1 ag (rec7. (R7.) , recordf 1 ag7. 
AND 254) 

1640 PROCtx (pageport , &80, stat i on7. (ChX, R7.) , co 
py OR S<FFFF0000, &400) 

1650 VDU 23, 1,0;0;0;0; 

1660 PROCreorder (R7., Ch7.) 

1670 RX*RX-1 
1680 ENDPROC 
1690 : 

1700 DEF PROCinit 
1710 osword=8<FFF 1 
1720 osbyte-&FFF4 
1730 oswrch=&FFEE 
1740 ENDPROC 
1750 : 

1760 DEF PROCcall (code7.) 

1770 ?blkX=codeX 
1780 XX=blkXiYX=XX DIV 256 
1790 AX=&7A: CALL osword 
1800 ENDPROC 
1810 : 

1820 DEF PROCclear 
1830 PROCcall (14) 

1840 ENDPROC 
1850 : 

I860 DEF PROCsetrows(rX) 

1870 blk7.?l=r7. 
i8B0 PROCcall (7) 

1890 ENDPROC 
1900 : 

1910 DEF FNreadrecord-f 1 ag (p7.) 

1920 bl k7.?l=p7. 

1930 PROCcall (2) 

1940 =blk7.?2 
1950 : 

1960 DEF PR0Csetuprecord(p7.,r7.,17.) 

1970 IF rX=maxchanpageX THEN ENDPROC 
1980 IF assocpageX(rX)=pX THEN ENDPROC 
1990 PROCcall (16) 

2000 bl k7.?l= s r7. 


2010 blkX?2=pX DIV 100 
2020 1 o7.=p7. MOD 10 
2030 hi7.= (p7. MOD 100) DIV 10 
2040 blkX?3=8<10*hi7.+lo7. 

2050 blkX?4=pX MOD 10 
2060 blkX?4=&3F 
2070 bl kX?5=8<7F 
2080 bl kX ! 6=17. 

2090 PROCcall (5) 

2100 PROCsetrecord-f lag (r7., &80) 

2110 assocpage7. (r7.) =p7. 

2120 used7.(r7.)=l 
2130 ENDPROC 
2140 : 

2150 DEF PROCsetrecord-f 1 ag (p7., v7.) 

2160 blk7.?l=p7. 

2170 bl k7.?2=v7. 

2180 PROCcall (3) 

2190 ENDPROC 
2200 s 

2210 DEF PROCdispl ay (loc7.) 

2220 checkS^FNcheck (loc%) 

2230 L=LEN(check$) 

2240 !data7.= 14+l+40 

2250 data7. ! 2=1 oc7.: data7. ! 4=copy : data7. !6=copy+ 

40: data7. ! B=copy+8<3FE: data7. ! 10=copy+24*40-14: d 
ata7. ! 1 2=1 oc7. ! 3 

2260 $(data7.+ 14)=STRING$(39-L, " M )+checki 
2270 X7.=data7.: Y7.=X7. DIV 256: A7.=S<E0: CALL oswo 
rd 

2280 ENDPROC 
2290 : 

2300 DEF PROCreorder (rd7.,ch7.) 

2310 LOCAL 17. 

2320 IF num7.(ch7.)=0 THEN ENDPROC 
2330 IF Ch7.=ch7. THEN reef 1 ag7. (rec7. (rd7.) ) =rec 
f 1 ag7. (rec7. (rd7.) ) -1 
2340 FOR I7.=rd7. TO num7. (ch7.) -1 
2350 page7. (ch7., 17.) =page7. (ch7., I7.+ 1 ) 

2360 station7.(ch7., 17.) =stati on7. (ch7., 17. + 1) 

2370 IF ch7.=Ch7. THEN mem7. ( 17.) =mem7. ( I7.+ 1 ) 

2380 IF ch7.=Ch7. THEN rec7. ( 17.) =rec7. ( I7.+ 1 ) 

2390 requestpriori ty7. (ch7., 17.) =requestpr i or i t 
y7.(ch7., I7.+ 1) 

2400 rol If Iag7.(ch7., 17.) =rol 1 f 1 ag7. (ch7., I7.+ 1) 

2410 requesttime7. (ch7., IX) =requesttime% (ch7., I 
X+l) 

2420 NEXT 

2430 queue7.=queue7.-l 
2440 numX (chX) =num7. (chX) -1 

2450 IF numX (chX) =0 THEN r equestpr i or i tyX (ch 
X, 1 ) =dummyX 
2460 ENDPROC 
2470 : 

2400 DEF PROCdelay (time) 

2490 TX=TIME 

2500 REPEAT UNTIL TIME>T7.+time 
2510 ENDPROC 
2520 : 

2530 DEF FNcheck ( IX) 

2540 bl kX?l = 17. MOD 256 
2550 bl kX?2=l X DIV 256 
2560 PROCcall (23) 

2570 IF blkX?3=0 THEN ="No check" 

2580 IF bl kX?3=l THEN ="Good check" 

2590 IF bl kX?3=8<FF THEN ="Bad data" 

2600 =*'Bad check" 

2610 : 

2620 DEF PROCoscl i (os$) 

2630 SblkX=os* 

2640 XX=bl kX: Y7.=XX DIV 256 
2650 CALL &FFF7: ENDPROC 
2660 : 

2670 DEF PROCtx (pX, cbX, stX, bX, 17.) 

2680 tr i esX=0 
2690 REPEAT 
2700 triesX=triesX+l 
2710 7blkX=cbX 
2720 bl kX?l=pX 
2730 blkX !2=stX 
2740 bl kX ! 4=bX 
2750 bl kX ! 8=bX+l X 

2760 XX=blkX: YX=XX DIV 256:AX=8cl0 
2770 CALL osword 

2780 UNTIL triesX>5 OR FNDolltx*=0 

Continued on page 123 ^ 


96 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


OFFERS 

THIS MONTH’S LISTINGS 


The August disc contains the first part of 
Acorn User's mega space-time adventure 
game, Warlord. Part two will follow on 
September’s disc. 

Joe’s Jottings will enable you to pre- 
sent your figures from Joe’s spreadsheets 
in bar, pie and line graph form. Use 
August’s Hints and Tips background 
program to print out the contents of your 
screen with a single key stroke. The 
programs from Arc Agora are also on the 



discs and 3.5-in format is available by 
turning to page 101. Archimedes owners 
can use the screen utilities program to 
load, save and compact all your screens 
There is also a tutorial program which wil 
show how to use events, or you can use 
Directory to draw a tree of all your files 
and. directories. 

Augusts listings come on 5.25-in 40/ 
80-track disc at £5.95, 3.5-in disc for the 
Archimedes and Compact at £6.95. 


Warlord 


- The adventurer’s guide 
to the Galaxy 


DISC SUBSCRIPTIONS 


Guarantee the priority delivery of your 
monthly listings by subscribing. Each 
month our discs contain the very best 
quality graphics, utilities and routines. 

A subscription to the monthly discs will 
save you hours of typing and de-bugging, 
leaving you time to enjoy the programs. 

A subscription to the Acorn User 
monthly listings discs will only cost you 
£40. This small investment will give you 
12 discs of listings. 


Why not take advantage of our special 
joint disc and magazine subscription 
offer? For £50, a saving of £7.50, you 
will receive 12 issues of Acorn User 
magazine and the accompanying monthly 
discs. Offers open to UK readers only. 

Save pounds by 
subscribing 



MAGAZINE BINDERS 


Keep your Acorn User magazine 
collection in style with our smart red 
binder; no more misplaced or dog-eared 
copies. The binder features a wide spine 
to hold 12 issues of 200 pages. 

£4.95 ensures that your valued guide 
to the BBC, Electron and Archimedes will 
always be kept in pristine condition. 

Have you missed any issues of Acorn 
User magazine, discs or cassettes? Acorn 
User has Deen publishing the essential 



guide to Acorn computing for five years. 
Think what you might have missed! Take 
this opportunity to make up your 
collection. Remember that all pre-1987 
discs and cassettes are still at the sale 
price of £3.95 and £2.95. Most issues 
are still available but stocks are getting 
very low. For a complete list of back issue 
contents write to: Seran Haddick, 
Redwood Publishing Ltd, 20-26 
Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ. 


Keep your magazines 
as good as new 


ORDER BY TELEPHONE 




40825 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


97 




OFFERS 

SOFTWARE & GRAPHICS 




Great graphics 
utilities 

The 40-track 5.25-inch Graphics Utilities disc, keenly priced at 
£7.95, features 16 stand-alone machine code utilities, an 
advanced teletext editor, several useful Basic procedures, an 
easy-to-adapt disc header and index. Included are: ‘ROTATE, 
rotates area through 180 degrees; ‘SWAPCOL, swaps two 
colours; ‘COLFILL, a colour fill routine; ‘SVPIC, saves a 
compacted picture; ‘LDPIC, reloads a compacted picture. 
There are many utilities to manipulate graphics. 


The best of ’87 
compilation disc 

All your favourite programs from 1987 on one disc, including 
Kiddie Art; Tapestry; PCB by CAD; music programs, Theme 
and Autumn; Joe Telford’s GEM-like front-end for the Master; 
a proportional screen dump; a View printer driver generator 
and a routine for printing spreadsheets sideways. The second 
half of the disc is devoted to graphics, with a video image 
enhancer and six Graphics Bonuses. The 80-track disc, with 
comprehensive manuals, is only £6.95. 



Micro masterpieces on 
Portfolio for £9. 95 


Jonathan Inglis, freelance illustrator, has 
assembled a Portfolio of his best work 
exclusively for Acorn User. 

The disc contains screens that have been 
used by national and regional publications. 
Included are Seurat’s Bathers, a Time Out 
cover from August 1 985, and two familiar 
Acorn User covers, Willow (Nov '86) and 
Magician (Jan ’86) , as well as several 
pictures commissioned by The Times. 

Three of Jonathan’s favourite 
masterpieces are on the disc; Seurat’s 
Riverside, Vermeer’s Lady at the Virginal 
and a copy of a famous lithograph by 
Matisse. Sade fans will probably be more 
interested in the two stunning portraits of 
the singer included on the disc. 

You can create your own piece de 
resistance using the Pixel Editor and Super 
Painter programs. Pixel Editor allows you to 
draw in and alter minute detail, while Super 
Painter enables you to draw lines, texture 
your screen and shade by mixing the eight 
standard colours. 

Portfolio comes in 80-track 5.25-inch 
format with a comprehensive instruction 
sheet telling you about the pictu res and how 
the artist created them . This disc can be 
yours for only £9.95. 


TO ORDER USE THE FORM ON PAGE 102 


98 


ACORN USKK AUGUS T 1988 



OFFERS 


USERDUMP ROM 


EMI The UserDump ROM will allow 
OMNI you to dump any screen image 
in any display mode by entering a single 
command - either as a line of your 
program or by typing it directly from the 
keyboard. A perfect dump can also be 
obtained while a machine code program 
is running. 

UserDump can dump a graphics 
window, make a distortion-free dump of 
mode 0 screens using plotter graphics, 



translate a teletext screen into mode 1 , 
and shift any area of memory. 

UserDump will work with any Epson- 
compatible printer which has single- 
density and double-density bit-image 
graphics including the Star Gemini, Delta, 
SG, SD and SR, Canon and Kaga NLQ. 

Details of further commands and 
printer compatibility are available from 
Seran at Redwood Publishing Ltd, 20- 
26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ. 


Trouble-free screen dumps for £19.95 

with UserDump 


VIE W CHAR T DISC 


M.5' 



Jan Feb Har 


81 / 82 # 83 / 84 , 85 / 86 


■ Vie wChart features a suite of 
programs which can be used to 
produce high-resolution graphics in pie 
chart, bar chart or line graph form. Data 
can be entered manually, or read from 
ViewSheet, ViewStore or View files. 

Present figures 
with ViewChart 


The charts can be labelled and shaded 
to give a really professional appearance. 

Epson-compatible screen dumps are 
included, one of which will produce a 
print-out to the full width of an A4 sheet. 
Screen dumps for other printers can be 
painlessly installed. 

The software is provided on a 5.25- 
inch 40-track disc (with 80-track 
converter). And the price of this 
professional package? Just £12.95. 


CALLIGRAPHY DISC 


Now you can produce 
HU professional tickets, 
letterheads and posters with the 
Calligraphy disc. 

Desalet is a font creator which 
produces customised letters to your 
personal design and saves you using 
repetitive data statements and error- prone 
calculations. All font sets can be up to 94 
characters long. 

Modical allows the use of disc-based 



font sets created with Desalet. Modical 
incorporates a modified file creation 
program, which allows files to be printed 
out immediately or saved for later. 

An enhanced font ROM, in the form of 
a sideways RAM image, allows you to 
design your own fonts for use on-screen. 
Any output to the printer will be in the 
new font - thus giving true Wysiwyg. 

This superb disc comes on 40/80-track 
5.25-inch disc and is only £9.95. 


Design your own fonts 
with Calligraphy 


ORDER WITH THE FORM O N PAGE 102 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


99 








This could be your last chance to buy this high quality 1 36 column 
Sakata wide-carriage printer for an inclusive price of £259, saving 
over £100 on the recommended retail price. The government have 
put a duty of 35 per cent on all printers and prices will be rising to 
accomodate it. 

The Sakata 5500 printer is Epson FX-compatible. It offers 
the following features: pica, elite and NLQ fonts plus a 
downloadable character set; a 3k printer buffer; friction and 
tractor feed for paper up to 16 inches wide; graphics modes 
compatible with Acorn User's UserDump ; super and sub- 
scripts; bold and italics. 

The printer is both fast and quiet. It will print at a rate of 
180 cps (draft mode) or 40 cps (NLQ mode) with a noise level 
of less than 55 decibels. 

Each printer comes with a free 1 .5 metre BBC printer cable 
and plug. Replacement ribbons are easily obtainable. 

The printer comes with a 12-month guarantee and a 
supplement for the BBC micro. 


Please send me Sakata 5500 printers at £259. 

I enclose my cheque/postal order for £ made payable to 

Redwood Publishing Ltd 

Please charge my Access/Barclaycard £ 


ACCOUNT NO. EXPIRY DATE 


NAME 

ADDRESS 

POSTCODE 

SIGNED DATED 

Send this coupon with your remittance to Printer Offer, Acorn User Merchandising, 
20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ. 


EXCLUSIVE ACORN USER OFFER 


OFFERS 

DOT-MATRIX PRINTER 


Get into print with Acorn User’s 
wide-carriage printer 


100 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


ORDER FORM 


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ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


101 


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102 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


REVIEWS 


THE^AME^PAGE 

ADDICTED 

What makes you want to rush out and buy a new game? As well as checking out the new 
releases, Sam Greenhill suggests some compelling reasons 


As August is a quiet time, I’m going to ask 
the crucial question to which I’m sure all 
games companies would like the answer - 
what makes a good game? 

But first a quick peek at the latest news. 
Audiogenic has two new games lined up. 
Shark , which was mentioned last month, is 
going through its final test and sounds 
quite good. There are three scenarios to get 
to grips with. In the jungle you swing from 
vines and leap over rivers like Tarzan. In 
the factory (what factory ?) you must crawl 
along pipes, girders and such, and then you 
have to weave among buildings in the big 
city. But for what purpose? Well, it’s 
obvious - to escape the aliens who have 
invaded the planet. 

Audiogenic’s second game is very much 
in the same vein as Pengo. Pengo involved 
a cute little penguin whose task was to 
destroy the ‘monsters’ by sliding ice cubes 
about and squashing them. The action took 
place in a freezer room, and was a varied 
but addictive ‘kill everything* game. Au- 
diogenic’s version is called Breakthrough , 
and relies more on strategy than the origin- 
al Pengo. Through the hundred rooms you 
must collect keys and other objects, but 
don’t dawdle - you only have 99 seconds 
to complete each level! 

Icarus is currently my favourite game, 
and is a marvellous debut for new games 
house Mandarin Software. Mandarin 
doesn’t write the games itself, but it mar- 
kets programs put together by other teams. 
Icarus comes from the authors of the old 
Bug-Byte game Dunjunz . Its main attrac- 
tion is the facility for two people to play 
together and help each other out. You 
progress through 20 levels collecting the 
pass cards and shooting the lifts. It is 
another reincarnation, this time of the 
popular Gauntlet , and is highly addictive. 

Mandarin has also teamed up with Level 
9 to release a trilogy of adventures. Price of 
ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 



Mushrooms: first screen designer for the Beeb 


Magik , Lords of Time, and Red Moon are 
all old news, but they have been enhanced 
with extra text and more pictures added. 

And now on to that crucial question - 
what makes a good game? 

A game can be successful for a galaxy of 
different reasons, but l think the most 
important is addiction. It is unlikely to 
succeed unless it can persuade you to ‘have 
another go’. A good example of this is 
Mirrorsoft’s Tetris - although the graphics 
aren’t up to much, the game simply keeps 
you up all night. There are four other 
categories that games arc often rated on 
(except perhaps text adventures) - graphics, 
sound, originality and versatility. 

Graphics are intriguing, and an obvious 
example where this has helped a game is 
Stryker's Run. I don’t think the game itself 
is all that addictive, but the superb pictures 
make everyone want a go - particularly 
with the enhanced graphics of the Master 
version. Conversely, sound doesn’t appear 
to have much effect on a game’s rating 
unless it is either very bad or very good, 
which is why most games don’t concen- 
trate too much on it. 

The same goes for originality. As long as 
it’s addictive, most players don’t really 
seem to mind if it is a spruced up copy of 


another game - provided that they don’t 
have the other game. If a game is successful 
it isn’t difficult to predict a sequel, and 
people will usually buy this regardless of 
any similarity to the first game. 

Depth is an important factor for a good 
game, and of course Elite is awarded first 
prize for its ‘infinite’ appeal, larch is by no 
means as ‘deep’ as Elite . It has an ‘instant’ 
appeal drawn from its fantastic graphics, 
and that doesn’t fade. But the game doesn’t 
develop, or ‘open up’ as you play it. 

However other games have the potential 
for enormous versatility by incorporating 
screen designers. Screen designers really 
make a game endless. Xor is a great exam- 
ple of this. Superior’s recent hoard of 
arcade-adventures such as Palace of Magic 
were good while they lasted but once 
completed there is really no point in play- 
ing any more. Yet I still play Magic 
Mushrooms from Acornsoft, and I enjoy 
Rep ton 3, because they each have screen 
designers and therefore a large potential. 
Grand Prix Construction Set from Superior 
has a screen designer too, although is 
limited in that there are only a small 
number of scenes possible. You cither have 
a straight, a curve, a bridge or a chicane. 
With Repton or Magic Mushrooms you can 
have a combination of all the icons to 
produce a different effect each time. 

I’ve run out of space for now, but take a 
look at this month’s Warlord adventure 
game while you wait for the next Games 
Page. Don’t forget to send in any cheats or 
high scores! I would also like to hear your 
views on what makes a good game. Even 
some ideas for plots would be welcome, 
especially ones that make good use of the 
Arc. Send any suggestions to me at The 
Games Page, Acorn User , Redwood Pub- 
lishing, 20-26 Brunswick Place, London 
Nl 6DJ. Together we’ll get some more 
good games on the market! 

103 





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Tl 


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ACORN 


NEW MASTER COMPACT 

series. 

Standard system is 128K. single 3.5 inch 

drive, bundled software. 


Compact entry system 

£349.00 

Compact TV system 

£359.00 

Compact with mono monitor 

£389.00 

Compact with colour monitor 

£529.00 

RS 232 interface for compact 

£26.00 

Extra 3 5m drive for compact 

£99.00 

PAL TV adaptor for compact 

£26.00 

Master 120 

£379.00 

Master econet module 

£43.47 

Turbo upgrade 

£108.00 

64K upgrade kit 

£34.74 

Master 512K upgrade 

£199.00 

10 Mbyte Hard disc with fileserver 


£1086.95 

30 Mbyte Hard disc with fileserver 


£1608.95 

Eprom cartridges 

£11.95 

Acorn DNFS kit 

£82.60 

1 770 upgrade kit 

£43.42 

ADFS ROM 

£26.04 

ATPL Sideways RAM 'ROM board £39.00 

CONCEPT Keyboard 

£124.95 

View manual 

£10.00 

Viewsheet manual 

£10.00 


PRINTER 

ACCESSORIES 


Automatic Cut Shoet Feeders 


Cut Sheet Feeders trom 

£60.00 

Paper Roil Holders From 

£17.60 

Eoson FX 80 Compatible Ribbons 

£2.95 

Epson 100 Ribbons 

C4.50 

Cannon Taxan compatible Ribbons 

£3.95 

Citizen printer Ribbons from 

£3.95 

Lasor cartridges Irom 

£19.50 

Full Rango ol Epson Sparos 

£POA 

Listing Paper (box 2000) trom 

£13.16 


Massive range of other ribbons lor printer end 
typewriters available. Call for details. 


BOOKS 


A wide range of books are available 
Phono for books on 
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MSDOS 
ARM 
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Philips 7502 Green Screen Comp Vrdeo C79.00 

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Philips 7513 Green Screen (IBM) £89.00 

Philips 77 1 3 Groen Screen ( IBM) Flat £109 00 

Zenith 1 230 Green Screen Comp Video £85.00 

Zonlth 1220 Amber Screen Comp Video £89 00 

TaxanKX 123 Green Scroen HI Res £99.00 

T axan KX Amber Screen Hi Res £99.00 

Philips 8873 EGA, CGA. PGA (IBM) £549 00 

MicroVitec 1431 Standard CUB 472 £199.00 

MlcroVltec 1 45 1 Medium CUB 653 £225.00 

MicroVitec 1 44 1 High Res CUB 895 £395.00 

MicroVitec 1322 EGARes (IBM) £485.00) 

MicroVitec 20H727ES Auto Scan £1395.00 

Thompson 4375M Mufti EGA VGA PGA £549.00 
NEC 140 IP MuttrSync EG A VGA £595.00 

Hitachi Multi Scan Monitor 14' £595.00' 

TaxanSV620 Supervision II £345.00 

TaxanSV62S Supervision III £399.00 

Taxan Supervision 20' Ultra Hi-Res £1999 00 

Colour Monitors 

Philips 8833 Medium Res (IBM Comp) £249.00 


AMSTRAD 


• New 1640 now in stock * 

Amstrad 1G40 
Enhanced colour display 


Single 300k floppy drive £799.00 

Twin 3G0k floppy drives £899.00 

Single 3G0k floppy drive • 20Mbyte hard 
disc drive £1199.00 

(Amstrad 15 12 _ 

Colour twin floppies £649.00 

20mB Hard Drive £260.00 

PCW8256 £299.00 

PCW 8512 £399.00 

PCW 9512 with daisywheel £499.00 

Amstrad 3.5" discs box of 10 £30.00 


SOFTWARE: 

Call for full list of IBM/Compatible and 
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DISC DRIVES 


Opus 5802 Single Drive excpsu £109.00 

Opus 5802D Dual Dnvo me psu £259.00 

Paco PS03 Single Dnve excpsu £125.00 

Paco PSD3P Single Dnvo me psu £148.00 

Pace POD3 Dual Drive excpsu £239.00 

Pace PDD3P Dual Dnve me psu £289.00 

Cumana CSX400 Smglo Drive ox psu £ 1 25.00 

CumanaCD800 Dual Drive inc psu £269.00 

Cumana CCD2000 Dual 5.25 + 3.5 t psu £289.00 


PRINTERS 

|* Dot Matrix Printers 

1 

Otuen 120-0 120cps ♦ NLO • 4K 

£179.00 

Omen LSP 1001 50 cps . NLO ♦ 4K 

£229.00 I 

Omen MSP40 240 cps t NLO ♦ 8K 

£385 00 1 

Omen MSP45 as MSP40 with 132 col 

£485.00 

1 Citizen MSP50 300 cps ♦ NLO * 8K 

£485.00 ! 

Citizen MSP55 as MSP50 with 132 col 

£649.00 

Citizen HQP40 24 pm ♦ 200cps » 24K 

C459.00 

Citizen HOP45 as HQP40 with 1 32 col 

£599.00 

Epson LX800 150 cps ^ NLQ -*• tr Trie 

£205.00 

Epson FX800 200 cps ♦ NLO • tr/trtc 

£345.00 

Epson FX 1 000 as F X 800 wilh 1 32 col 

£440.00 

Epson EX8O0 300 cps • col option 

£471.00 

Epson EX1000asEX800 with 132 col 

£633.00 

Epson LQ500 1 50 cps 24 pm ♦ parking 

£327.00 

Epson LQ8S0 1 80 cps 24pm dual I face 

£499.20 

Epson IQ 1 050 as L0850 wrth 1 32 col 

£699.00 

E pson LQ2S00 top ol the rango 

£899.00 

Eoson SQ2500 24 nozzle mk-iet 

£1149.95 

Brother M tl 09 1 00 cps dual i tace 

£211.50 

Brother M 1 209 1 40 cps dual i taco 

£238.50 

Brother M 1409 180 cps t lOcddual 

£382.50 

Brother M 1 509 1 80 cps 1 36 col dual 

£445.50 

j Brother Ml 709 200 cps 136 col LO IBM 

£525.00 

| Brother 2024 L 24 pm 1 GO cps LO IBM 

C699.00 

Brother M 251 8 360 cps 136colLQspp 

£899.00 

Brother M 40 1 8 1 6 pin 480 cps dual 

£1299.00 

Brother M 1 724 24 pm 1 80 cps LQ 

£599.00 

Star NX 1 5 1 20 cps 1 36 col NLO 

£349.00 

Star SD 1 0 1 60 cps 80 col NLO 

£349.00 

Star ND 1 5 1 80 cps 1 38 col NLO 

£440 00 

Star SR 1 0 200 cps 80 col NLO 

£440.00 

Star NR15240 cps 136 col NLO 

£52995 

Star NB 15 300 cps 136col24pm LQ 

£764.00 

Star NB24 1 5 21 6 cps 1 36 cps 24 pin 

£68300 

Star N0 1 0 1 80 cps 80 col NLO 

£309 00 1 

Star NR1 0 240 cps 80 col NLO 

£399.50 

Star LC 1 0 1 20 cps paper park BO col 

£206 00 

Amstrad DMP 3 1 60 1 60 cps 80 col NLO 

£199.00| 

Amstrad DMP 4000 200 cps 1 36 col NLO 

£299 001 

Amstrad LQ3500 24 pm LQ 80 col 

£299.00 

Panasonic KXP 1081 120 cps 80 col NLO 

£189 00 

Panasonic KXP 1 1082 160 cps 80 col NLO 

£209.00 

Panasonic KXP 1083 240 cps 80 col NLO 

£345.00 

Panasonic KXP 1592 160cps 132 col 

£449.00 

Panasonic KXP 1 595 240 cps 1 32 col 

£549.00 

Daisy Wheel Printors 


Citizen Premier 35 cps 

£599.00 

Brother HR20 22 cps Duall laco 

£440.00 

1 Brother HR40 40 cps me Sh Feodor 

£995.00 

* Brother Twmwntor Matrix D 'Wheel 

£899.95 1 

. PanasonicKXP3131 17cpsl20tol 

£295.00- 

Juki 6000 12 cps 80 col 

£179.00 

Juki 6 1 00 20 cps 1 32 col 

£349.00 

Juki 6200 30 cps 132 col 

£529.00, 

Juki 6300 40 cps 1 32 COl 

£725.00 

Juki 6500 60 cps 1 32 col dual 1 taco 

£879 00 

Laser Printers 


. Citizen Overture 1 1 0 Plus Dual I face 

£1436.00 

1 Epson GQ-3500 6 ppm me HP emulation 

£1450 00 

Brothor HLB 8 ppm multi emulation 

£1695 00 

NEC LC 81 5 8 ppm Dual Interlace' 

£1995 00 

Star LP88ppm iMBIncmaintonnnco lyr 

£1995.00 


OPUS PC’S 


PC3 SF Mono 256K £549.00 

PC3 TF Mono 768K £775.00 

PC3 HD Mono 1024K £1,045.00 

PC5 (AT) HD Mono 1024K £1,345.00 


EGA System available please ado £300.00 
For MSDOS/GWBASIC add £60.00 


Wide range of computer 
books now in stock for: 

BBC ARCHIMEDES 
MSDOS ARM AMSTRAD 


BBC ROM 
SOFTWARE 


InterWord 

£4&00 

Intersheet .. 

£48.00 

Interchart 

£28.50 

Interbase .. 

£59.00 

Acorn 


View 2.1 

£45.00 

View 3.0 

£63.00 

ViewPlot (Disc) 

£25.75 

VtewSpell 

£33.50 

Viewsheet 

£45.00 

Viewstore 

£45.00 

GXR (please state whether for B or B^) 


£23.00 

ISO Pascal 

£52.00 

BCPL 

£39.00 

£46.00 


£52.00 

ADFS 

£26.04 

Computer Concepts 


Wordwise Plus 

£40.00 

Prmtmaster 

£25.00 

Accelerator 

£40.00 

Speech ROM 

£27.50 

Spellmaster 

£46.00 

Beebugsott 


Toolkit Plus 

£33.00 

Wordease 

£25.00 

ICON master . 

£29.00 

ROMIT 

£29.00 

Help II ROM 

£27.00 

Sleuth ROM 

£27.00 

Exmon II. . 

£28.00 

Spellcheck III 

£32.00 

MUROM 

£24.00 

Pace 


Commstar 

£29.57 


AMX 


Please state whether for BBC or Master 

AMX mouse with Super Art ROME7&00 

Stop Press 


Paintpot 

£13.00 

Desk 

£21.70 

Super Art ROM 

£43.43 

Database 

£21.70 

3D Zicon 

£21.70 

Utilities 

£13.00 


ARCHIMEDES SOFTWARE 


System Delta Plus Database £69.95 

System Gamma Plus Graphics £69.95 

System Delta Account (per module) £64.95 


School Administrator - £79.95 

Video Rental £69.95 

Newsagent £69.95 

Clares Alpha Base £49.95 

Clares Image Writer £29.95 

Archimedes Took-kit Module £39.95 


SPECIAL 

SOFTWARE 


Torch Turbo Library 
functions find procedures for Turbo 
Pascal to access the power ol 
Torch/BBC facilities 
Newnet 

Powerful friendly Torchnet management 
software with password protection etc. 
dBase special 

dBase helper program now available for 
those who want to access the powerful 
facilities in dBase, without having to 
learn how to program in dBase 


HOW TO ORDER 

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104 


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£ 

£ 


£ 

£ 

£ 

TOTAL £ 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 







REVIEWS 

GAMES 


DON’T LOSE 


YOUR HEAD 



Barbarian; Superior Software; BBC/ 
Electron tape £9.95, BBC disc £11.95. 

In Barbarian you play the part of the 
ultimate warrior, whose task it is to save 
the princess from the evil sorcerer and his 
henchmen. The game is in a style similar to 
that of other head-to-head combat games, 
such as karate and boxing. But this time 
the weapons are swords. 

You may fight either the computer, a 
friend or a passive opponent for practice. I 
found the last to be most useful, it being 
the only mode in which I could win when 
I first played the game. 

Also included is a demo mode, in which 
two computer-controlled men fight against 
one another. 

The only moving objects in the whole 
game are the two fighters and a little 
character who walks across the screen and 
drags off the body of the fallen warrior at 
the end of the fight. 

The warrior sprites are quite large — and 
they need to be, since there is no form of 
vertical movement in the game. The men 
are animated well, there are no nasty black 
blocks around the edges of the sprites, and 
there is no flicker. 

In contrast the clean-up minion at the 
end of the game flickers a little: l get the 
impression this was the last thing to be 
added to the program. 

Control is either by joystick or 
keyboard. You soon sec the need for a 
practice option when you realise that to 
produce some movements requires a 
finger-tingling combination of three keys 
at once. 

But once the keys are mastered, you may 
stand a chance against the computer oppo- 
nents. After a few attempts I found that 
these sometimes lose their heads, especially 


after the flying neck chop. 

Playing Barbarian is very enjoyable, and 
sometimes frustrating. It’s the animation 
that makes this game stand out from some 
of the other combat games. Watching the 
demo mode reminded me of a Kung Fu 
film I saw recently, except in Barbarian the 
acting- is better. 

Gavin Gillings 


STRANDED 

IN SPACE 

Stranded; Heyley Software (24 Ley Hey 
Road, Marple, Stockport SK65 6PQ); 
BBC B disc £9.95, Archimedes £12.95. 

A little-known company called Heyley 
Software appears to have won the race to 
release the first adventure for the Arc. It is, 
however, an extended version of a game 
already available for the original BBC from 
the same company. 

You start off trapped in a cell aboard a 
starfreighter. An ugly guard keeps a close 
watch, but if you let time take its course, 
freedom becomes a distinct possibility. 
Having eluded the guard, you must then 
find a way to land the ship and escape. 

Adventures that employ a futuristic 
background often get bogged down in 
technical jargon. Fortunately Stranded 
doesn’t, and it’s generally very tongue-in- 
cheek. There are even a few surprise guests 
along the way with appearances from 
Tommy Cannon (Cannon and Ball) and 
Marillion lead singer Fish. 

Technically, the game is OK, but the 
disc is accessed frequently. I would have 
thought that, given the Arc’s large memory 
capacity, most of the adventure could be 
loaded in at one go. There is, though, a 
kind of RAM disc facility available to store 
your current position. Games can also be 
saved to disc if a more permanent record is 
required. 

Although all commands can be typed in, 
the save facility and other useful com- 
mands can be accessed via the mouse. The 
icons at the top of the screen relate to short 
or verbose text descriptions, storage of the 
current position, and useful commands 
such as INVENTORY and SCORE. The 
game is enjoyable and amusing to play - 
and I haven’t managed to finish it yet. 

Rob Miller 


KEEP OUT 
- OF THE SUN 



Icarus; Mandarin Software; £9.95 (cass) 
for BBC B, Master and Electron; £11.95 
on disc (5.25-in or 3.5-in) for all BBC/ 
Acorn machines. 

Icarus is the first release from new games 
publishers Mandarin, although it’s pro- 
grammed by Powerhouse, the team behind 
Dunjunz. The scenario is in the Plan B 
mould; wander around a spaceship and try 
to wrest control of the central computer, 
all the while shooting at the computer’s 
defence droids. It’s called Icarus because 
the spaceship is out of control and plung- 
ing towards the sun. Only by getting to the 
computer can you avert disaster. 

However, the game looks nothing like 
Plan B. Its main novelty is that two can 
play, and it’s certainly easier with an ally. 
There are 20 levels to fight your way 
through, with lifts to destroy and droids to 
kill. Parts of each level are protected by 
force fields, which can only be turned off 
by pushing buttons in a particular sequ- 
ence. With two people playing, one can 
crack the code while the other provides 
covering fire. But if you’re playing on your 
own you have to destroy all the lifts and 
droids first or you’ll probably die. The 
problems are nicely judged, easy to start 
with but getting harder. But like most of 
these sort of games, there is a certain 
‘sameness’ about every level. 

The movement is quite smooth, and 
there’s lots of it. There’s a lot of action and 
rapid firing, and it takes more than one hit 
to kill each droid. But the sprites are 
relatively small and the sound is 
rudimentary. I found it fun to play, and 
easy to get the hang of (you can pick which 
keys to use), and it’s one of those rare 
games that works well on the Electron too. 
Overall, pretty good value. 


Graham Bell 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


105 







REVIEWS 


WORDLY WISE 

Martin Phillips tries out two wordprocessors capable 
of handling languages from Greek to geometry 




Sci 

scientific It 
internet ional 
wo rdp rocesso r 

memory : 3: 171FC 
driver: - 

file: - 


Load 

*Nw 

Disc 

Append 

Insert 


Iaport 

Driver 


The Sci menu may look plain, but the wordprocessor is simple to use 


A wordprocessor can benefit almost any 
teacher, both in the classroom with pupils, 
and for preparing written materials. Here 
presentation is the key factor, plus the 
ability to save text on disc and perhaps 
revamp it later. There are several good 
wordprocessors for the BBC, but most of 
them will only allow special characters 
with great difficulty. 

Now two wordprocessors have come 
along with the express aim of enabling 
scientific and mathematical formulae to be 
entered quickly and easily. One will also 
allow a whole range of accented and special 
characters, making it suitable for most 
European languages. 

Vue Scientific from Intelligent Machines 
costs £47.50 and comes as a ROM chip, 
with manual and keystrip. Sci (pronounced 
‘ski’, so I am informed) costs £29.90 from 
Chessfield Software. It too comes as a 
ROM, with a disc, manual and keystrip. 
Both are designed to work on a BBC B 
with a sideways RAM card, a BBC B + or* 
Master. This should not prove a limitation, • 
as I suspect most secondary schools will 
now have at least one Master. Both these 
packages have a range of facilities compar- 
able with other BBC wordprocessors, as 
well as their extra functions to deal with 
equations and special characters. 

The first thing to do with any piece of 
software is look at the handbook. The Vue 
manual is well laid out with 41 pages in A5 
format. The print is rather too small for 
my ageing eyes, though the screen shots 
are useful, and the explanations are particu- 
larly thoughtfully done. The Sci handbook 
is a 40-page loose-leaf A4 handbook with 
larger print, mercifully. Both handbooks 
explain the use of the wordprocessors well, 
though there are some serious omissions 
from the Vue handbook - the most vital of 
these being an index. 

1 put the chips into a BBC Master using 
a ROM cartridge, that masterpiece ot bad 
design from Acorn. Neither manual gives 
any help in fitting ROMs, which is a bad 
point as many teachers have difficulty 
knowing how to do this. Vue did weird 


Sci displays special characters on screen 

and wonderful things until 1 looked at the 
covering letter and noticed that I should 
have typed :; 'SHADO\V before loading it. 
There is no mention of this in the hand- 
book, and having to type this each time it 
is used can become a real pain. Both 
wordprocessors have a menu system from 
which the main functions can be accessed. 
Vue is less friendly and requires prompts in 
capital letters. 

The Sci menu page is a delight. It looks 
rather plain and uninteresting at first, but 


once you discover the way a series ol 
menus unfolds from the main menu, the 
wordprocessor is simple to use. From the 
main menu a whole range of features can 
be accessed. On many wordprocessors 
these features are accessed from the func- 
tion keys, with Sci the function keys are 
reserved for more important things. 

Editing is straightforward with both 
wordprocessors, with Vue gaining a few 
points by having a simpler method of 
entering complex formulae, which means 
they can be moved around the screen more 
easily. Both packages are Wysiwyg (What 
You See Is What You Get, a horrible 
acronym which indicates that the screen 
display shows exactly what it will look like 
when it is printed out). It is fairly easy to 
access the special characters with both 
wordprocessors, though Sci has a help 
button which displays the various charac- 
ters on screen. A problem I found with 
80-column mode was seeing some of the 
characters clearly, not because of my fail- 
ing eyesight this time, but because they 


106 


ACORN USIiR AUGUST 1988 






REVIEWS 


SOFTWARE 



were superscripted or subscripted. Sci has 
the perfect answer, a function key which 
switches between 40-and 80-column mode. 
This can also be done with Vue but it 
involves pressing Break and almost re- 
entering the program. Sci allows italics, 
underlined or bold text to be accessed from 
the function keys and displayed on the 
editing screen. 

Printing out proves to be fun. I tried Sci 
first and with the proper printer driver my 
Citizen 120D printer worked well and at 
quite impressive speed. Sci has a series of 
printer drivers for all the common makes 
of dot-matrix and laser printers. The 
manual goes into some detail on their use, 
and is very helpful. Vue , on the other 
hand, has just 16 lines on printing in the 
handbook, and presents that tired express- 
ion ‘Epson-compatibility > with the usual 
assumption that it actually means some- 
thing. Printing user-defined characters is 
perhaps the least compatible part of any 
printer standardisation, and my Citizen 
proved to be an efficient paper dispenser, 
throwing out pages of paper with the odd 
couple of characters on each page. I gather 
that few printers are truly ‘Epson- 
compatible’ in this area, including the 
Epsons themselves. 

Eventually I borrowed a trusty Epson 
FX80, which still did not work until I 
remembered to alter the dip switch settings 
(you’re assumed to know all about these of 
course). Again there is no mention of this 
procedure in the handbook, and just a 
reference to it in the covering letter. The 
Sci handbook doesn’t mention these dip 
switch settings either. 

Sci comes out the winner when loading 
and saving. It has warning messages if a file 
is going to be overwritten, and it allows 
files to be loaded from and saved to other 
wordprocessors - an essential feature these 
days. Vue crashes when a Wordwise file is 
loaded in. 

Both wordprocessors have many more 
facilities than I have space to mention here, 
as they are complete wordprocessors in 
their own right. However, in use Sci out- 
performs Vue in most aspects. I found that 
after just half an hour’s writing with Sci it 
all seemed so natural I didn’t need to use 
the handbook. The more I used the menu 
system the more I grew to like it. Indeed I 
would be quite content to use Sci instead of 


rA0AEnztf<pr2 o£P-y8eci\0 V KXm>t onpcfC'tu^'iCvyQ 

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riij(q) = j { *(2n) * Tr ' /l S-rr ( k ] r(k 5 k+c i ) S— (k+q) 

_ 3p 3u. ± 3 f 3Ui "i 

•3tU, = - -*7a- Uj— 1 + y 

3^ l 3 a j 3 a j L >3h j J 


Sci allows a range of special characters for maths and language work, with a 9-pin Kaga 810 


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Extra quality and more user-defined characters with a 24-pin NEC printer 


old favourites like View or Wordwise. I 
would recommend it to all language, sci- 
ence or mathematics teachers with little 
reservation. It can be used by both teacher 
and pupils alike and has all the facilities 
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added ability to cope with accents, special 
characters and equations. 


Sci £ 29.90 , from Chessfield Software , 61 
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hamshire HP6 6RU. (Note: specify full 
details of your system when ordering ). Trial 
disc available for £6. 

Vue Scientific, £ 47.50 , Intelligent Machines 
Ltd , 66 Browning Road , Bushwood Estate , 
London Ell 3AR. 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


107 



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108 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


mIh in si m li i mi ■ mu ii l it i mm ii ng in ini 






REVIEWS 


BETTER BY DESIGN 

If you want to design your own printed circuit boards, you can’t beat the new high-quality, 
low-cost package from Pineapple, says Malcolm Brown 




Any worthwhile item of electronics is 
produced on a printed circuit board. PCBs 
make the assembly of electronics relatively 
easy, cheap and more reliable. The fun- 
damentals of PCB design aren’t hard to 
grasp; you have just so many circuit com- 
ponents on the board which have to be 
connected together correctly. 

When the design has been sketched out, 
a mask must be done. Single PCBs are 
made by exposing a copper-coated board 
to ultra-violet light, through a mask with 
the desired pattern marked on it - rather 
like exposing a piece of photographic paper 
through a negative in an enlarger. After 
‘developing’ and etching the board, just the 
tracks in copper remain. 

The mask (or masks for double-sided 
boards) can be made by hand by a tedious 
process using reels of black tape and rub- 
on transfers, but it’s difficult to make the 
whole thing look neat. Of course compu- 
ters and CAD systems have been used, but 
only recently has a system that could be 
called professional become available for the 
BBC micro. Pineapple Software’s package 
provides all you need to produce PCB 
masks easily. 

The software, called simply PCB , is 
basically a specialised drawing package. It 
comes on a ROM chip with a couple of 
example board designs on disc and a 35- 
page manual. 

All the design work is done on a mode 1 
screen, and four colours are used to dis- 
tinguish between various ‘layers’ of the 
board. Apart from the background, one 
colour (red) is used for tracks on the top of 
the board, a second colour (cyan) for the 
tracks underneath and a third colour for 
the ‘roundels’ - the circular pads around 
the component lead holes. 

A new board is first sized. Boards up to 
8.0 by 5.6 inches are allowed. On a 12-inch 
monitor, the image is about life size, with 
graduated edges marked off in 1/1 0th inch. 

Positioning of the components must 
now be decided. The shapes are selected 
with function keys and positioned using 
the arrow keys. Four basic component 
shapes are provided - roundels, two lead 


components, chips and text. The two lead 
elements, for resistors, capacitors, coils or 
any other passive component, come in 
vertical and horizontal orientations and 
once on the board can be expanded in 
length to suit the actual component. Simi- 
larly the chip symbols can be increased in 
number of pins. 

The roundels come in three sizes and the 
Shift-cursor keys expand a single roundel 
to a line or block suitable for connectors. 
All component roundels appear on both 
sides of the board so don’t have to be 
matched up separately. 

All components arc placed so their 
roundels are exactly on a l/10th-inch grid. 
This is as accurate as required. Once posi- 


tioned, a component can be easily moved 
or deleted. A simple line drawing routine is 
also included ^at this stage for altering the 
edge of the board and drawing unusual 
component outlines. Any area can be 
copied elsewhere on the screen, deleted or 
saved to disc for use in another board. 
Once the positions are settled, track- 
routing begins. This saves the component 
layout and strips the design to the roundels 
which must be joined with copper tracks. 

In the track-routing stage, three widths 
of track are provided (0.025, 0.05 and 0.075 
inch). Selecting one of these enables tracks 
to be drawn in the relevant colour, follow- 
ing the movement of the cross cursor. 
Tracks can be deleted with the cursor in 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


109 




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This is the story of Gerald the Game 

Gerald the Game sat in his cassette box. He was fed up. No-one played him any 
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no 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 




REVIEWS 



the same way, but roundels can get ‘dam- 
aged*. This doesn’t affect the final print- 
out, but a ‘repair’ facility is provided to 
redraw them. Roundels can be added at 
this stage without going back to the com- 
ponent layout screen. Text can be added 
for either side of the board, in two sizes 
and four orientations. 

Because the track design is stored as a 
simple screen RAM image, even a simple 
board takes up a lot of disc memory, but it 
also puts no limit on the number or 
complexity of tracks. 

Auto-routing 

Pineapple also offers an auto-routing add- 
on for PCB. This automatically draws in 
most of the circuit tracks for you. Like the 
main program, this too is in ROM. 
Although an extra, PCB was designed with 
auto-routing in mind and it fits in perfectly. 

All the connections to be made are 
entered on the roundel-covered board. 
Prom each roundel the cursor is used to 
rubber band a line directly to where that 
pad is to be connected. 

It is not easy to make all the connections 
correctly with a complex circuit. It must be 
worked through methodically to keep 
errors to a minimum. Some auto-routing 
systems produce a list of connections, with 
pre-defined labels for each pad, as a check. 
This one doesn’t, so it is easy to miss a 
couple of connections. However, with prac- 
tice fewer errors appear. 

Each connection can be biased with a 
preference for positioning on or underneath 
the board or with equal weight to either. 
They can also be biased with a direction to 
start off the autorouting algorithms in the 
correct direction. Connections are edited by 
moving to an end point and pressing a 
function key to isolate one. This can then be 
deleted or the next connection selected. 

Once all connections are entered, press- 
ing a function key starts the actual auto- 
routing. There is a choice of whether tracks 
can go between adjacent pins on chips, and 
whether the connections list is ‘sorted’ to 
bias east-west or north-south tracks. 

The auto-routing process takes quite 
some time and draws as it calculates the 
tracks. Those it cannot manage it reports at 
the end, and if the routing is accepted these 
omissions can either be drawn in by hand, 
or rejected and the connections list rejigged 
for a better result. The auto-routing works 
in the same order as connections are en- 
tered, until all have been tried. Thus the 
initial order of the connections is important. 


The ROM has its limitations. There is a 
limit of 190 connections, although a com- 
plex board could, in theory, be done in two 
sittings. And for each connection the pro- 
gram will not search a route outside a 
rectangle eight times the rectangle with the 
two connected points at its opposite cor- 
ners. There is also a maximum rectangle of 
investigation of 3 1 36 pixels - equivalent to a 
3.7in X 3.7in square. Finally, the auto-route 
ROM always produces the same width of 
track (0.25in) with the same minimum 
spacing. However, thicker connections can 
always be added later, manually. Despite 
these constraints, PCB Auto-route is re- 
markable. No similar software comes near 
the price. Once designed, the PCB can be 
printed out. It is here that Pineapple’s 
package beats all other low-cost PCB design 
software. Each part of the board can be 
printed - either of the two track masks or 
the component layout - either double-size 
or same-size, and in positive or negative 
form. The print-out routine is designed for 
any Epson-compatible printer with a quad 
density graphics mode. Other printers can 


be catered for by setting up the program 
with "'commands. Plus there’s an extra set 
oi plotter drivers available. 

The print-out is of a higher quality than 
the screen display. Close tracks which 
cannot be differentiated on the screen are 
clearly separated and the track corners and 
roundels are nicely rounded — important 
for high-frequency or high-voltage boards. 
The quad density print-out is dark and crisp 
enough for copying onto film for prototyp- 
ing. Alternatively the print-out itself can be 
sprayed with a special ‘transparentising’ 
spray and used as the UV mask. 

PCB cannot turn a BBC micro into a 
professional design workstation, but it does 
do all that the electronics enthusiast could 
reasonably ask. With the addition of the 
auto-routing software it becomes a power- 
ful package which would not disgrace a 
small, electronics manufacturer and is cer- 
tainly a boon to any interested amateur. 
Pineapple Software , 39 Brownlea Gardens , 
Seven Kings , Ilford , Essex IG3 9NL. Tel: 
01-595 1476. PCB £8 5+ VAT, PCB+ Auto- 
route £18 5 + VAT 


ACORN US HR AUGUST 1988 


111 














l*HOTOC.RAPHS BY ANDRI Vt ( ANTOURIS 


PRINTER REVIEW 


GOING FOR 

QUALITY 

The falling cost of 24-pin dot-matrix printers make them 
an affordable option. We test four of the latest models 


Rob Miller and Graham Bell 


P rinters have come a long way 
since the now obsolete teletype 
machines clattered away in every 
computer installation. They 
printed around 10 characters per 
second at most. The comparison between 
them and today's dot-matrix and laser 
printers is on a par with comparing the 
first computer with an Archimedes. Prin- 
ters can now sit quietly beside your com- 
puter and print out pages and pages in a 
matter of minutes. 

Modern printers fall into one of three 
categories: daisywheel, dot-matrix and las- 
er. The dot-matrix type is certainly the 
most common and the most versatile of 
these. An article explaining all three types 
of printer was published in the February 
‘88 issue of Acorn User. 

The cheapest dot-matrix printers are the 
9-pin machines. These work at a relatively 
fast speed, often about 180 characters per 
second (cps), but produce a crude print- 
out. You can generally tell when text has 
been printed out on 9-pins - the characters 
are formed with small dots and often look 
‘bitty'. Have a look at the yellow pages 
section in this magazine for an example. 
There are some 9-pins that have an NLQ 
(near letter quality) option. The text pro- 
duced looks more like that produced on a 
typewriter, although it is still recognisable 
as 9-pin quality. The disadvantage is that 
NLQ is much slower than normal ‘draft 
quality’ printing — perhaps only 30 charac- 
ters per second. 

The more expensive 24-pin printers use 
their extra pins to give better output with- 
out sacrificing speed. The pins are smaller 
and spaced more closely, so the dots mak- 
ing up each letter are less obvious in the 
final print-out. The characters are compa- 
rable to those produced with a typewriter 

112 


and are often referred to as letter quality - 
hence the LQ in the designation of the 
Epson LQ-800, the ‘standard’ 24-pin prin- 
ter which we reviewed in November 1987. 
A compatibility chart containing details of 
the four 24-pin printers reviewed here, plus 
the LQ-800 and Epson GQ-3500 laser 
printer, is shown on page 45. The cost of 
these machines is falling rapidly at the 
moment; prices are now comparable with 
the cost of an equivalent 9-pin printer two 
years ago. The recommended prices are 
given at the end of the article, but normal 
shop prices are up to £100 lower. 

The average quoted speed of the 24-pin 
machines reviewed here is about 80 cps, 
three time faster than a 9-pin printer in 
NLQ mode. Most of them also have a 
draft mode for doing rough copies, where 
the speed can be anything up to 250 cps. 

As well as producing better quality text, 
the graphical resolution of a 24-pin printer 
is considerably better. As a result, this 
makes them a cheaper alternative to laser 
printers for basic desktop publishing work. 
If you go to the trouble of producing 
oversized work and then reducing it, high- 
quality graphical output can be achieved. 

One oi the best features of these printers 
was the paper parking; this is now fairly 
standard on the latest models. It allows 
single sheets of paper to be put in without 
removing the continuous stationery. Two 
buttons to press, and you can insert your 
letterhead paper, for example, using the 
friction feed. Meanwhile, the continuous 
stationery is wound out the back of the 
machine, but is still held on the tractor 
pins. To revert to continuous stationery, 
you just switch back to friction feed, lift 
the paper bail, and the paper is automati- 
cally wound in. All very easy. 

A worry about the current crop of 



Citizen HQP40: probably the best value 


The typefaces used by 
each of the printers 
have slight differ- 
ences. So we printed 
out a standard letter 
using the Courier font 
on each of the print- 
ers, using a new ribbon 
and standard business 
stationery. We then 
asked a sample of ten 
office workers which 
they preferred. Each 
ranked the four print- 
ers differently, but 
overall the preference 
was strongly for the 
Citizen’s output. The 
Toshiba 3-in-l ranked 
second, with the Pana- 
sonic and NEC holding 
up the rear. Two tel- 
ling comments though: 
no-one would be dis- 
mayed at receiving a 
business letter printed 
on any of these print- 
ers. Many people 
strongly dislike the 
dotty nature of 9-pin 
printer output, but all 
of these were accept- 
able. But everyone 
preferred the fifth 
version of the standard 
letter, which came from 
an Epson GQ-3500 laser 
printer. Four sample 
printouts are shown in 
the boxes, with 9-pin 
NLQ and laser output 
for comparison. 

The typefaces 
each of the pr 
have slight di 
ences. So we 

The favourite print-out among office workers 

ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 



PRINTER REVIEW 




Toshiba 3-in-0ne, with optional sheet feeder 

The typefaces used by 
each of the printers 
have slight differ- 
ences. So we printed 
out a standard letter 
using the Courier font 
on each of the print- 
ers, using a new ribbon 
and standard business 
stationery. We then 
asked a sample of ten 
office workers which 
they preferred. Each 
ranked the four print- 
ers differently, but 
overall the preference 
was strongly for the 
Citizen’s output. The 
Toshiba 3-in-l ranked 
second, with the Pana- 
sonic and NEC holding 
up the rear. Two tel- 
ling comments though: 
no-one would be dis- 
mayed at receiving a 
business letter printed 
on any of these print- 
ers. Many people 
strongly dislike the 
dotty nature of 9-pin 
printer output, but all 
of these were accept- 
able. But everyone 
preferred the fifth 
version of the standard 
letter, which came from 
an Epson GQ-3500 laser 
printer. Four sample 
printouts are shown in 
the boxes, with 9-pin 
NLQ and laser output 
for comparison. 

The typefaces 
each of the pr 
have slight di 
ences. So we 

A stylish printer for business use 

ACORN USIiR AUGUST 1988 


Larger and heavier: the KX-P1540 Panasonic 


The typefaces used by 
each of the printers 
have slight differ- 
ences. So we printed 
out a standard letter 
using the Courier font 
on each of the print- 
ers, using a new ribbon 
and standard business 
stationery. We then 
asked a sample of ten 
office workers which 
they preferred. Each 
ranked the four print- 
ers differently, but 
overall the preference 
was strongly for the 
Citizen's output. The 
Toshiba 3-in-l ranked 
second, with the Pana- 
sonic and NEC holding 
up the rear. Two tel- 
ling comments though: 
no-one would be dis- 
mayed at receiving a 
business letter printed 
on any of these print- 
ers. Many people 
strongly dislike the 
dotty nature of 9-pin 
printer output, but all 
of these were accept- 
able. But everyone 
preferred the fifth 
version of the standard 
letter, which came from 
an Epson GQ-3500 laser 
printer. Four sample 
printouts are shown in 
the boxes, with 9-pin 
NLQ and laser output 
for comparison. 

The typefaces 
each of the pr 
have slight di 
ences . So we 

A reliable workhorse 



Ungainly: the NEC, with optional sheet feeder 


The typefaces used by 
each of the printers 
have slight differ- 
ences. So we printed 
out a standard letter 
using the Courier font 
on each of •'the print- 
ers, using a new ribbon 
and standard business 
stationery. We then 
asked a sample of ten 
office workers which 
they preferred. Each 
ranked the four print- 
ers differently, but 
overall the preference 
was strongly for the 
Citizen's output. The 
Toshiba 3-in-l ranked 
second, with the Pana- 
sonic and NEC holding 
up the rear. Two tel- 
ling comments though: 
no-one would be dis- 
mayed at receiving a 
business letter printed 
on any of these print- 
ers. Many people 
strongly dislike the 
dotty nature of 9-pin 
printer output, but all 
of these were accept- 
able. But everyone 
preferred the fifth 
version of the standard 
letter, which came from 
an Epson GQ-3500 laser 
printer. Four sample 
printouts are shown in 
the boxes, with 9-pin 
NLQ and laser output 
for comparison. 

The typefaces 
each of the pr 
have slight di 
ences . So we 

Not liked by the panel, but good value 


i— lH 


3 




S-4 1 




695.00 

728.00 

865.00 

752.00 

804.00 

952.00 

815.00 

865.00 

1014.00 

1399.00 

1449.00 

1599.00 


p 


ARCHIMEDES 

305 BASE AKB10 
305 & mono monitor 
305 & colour monitor 
310 BASE AKB15 
310 8 mono monitor 
310 8 colour monitor 
A310M AKB30 
A3I0M mono 
A3I0M colour 
410 SERIES 
Entry System 
Mono 
Colour 
440 SERIES 

Entry System 2299.00 

Mono 2349.00 

Colour 2499.00 

Arr himedes/Master Econet 43.00 

0 5 MB RAM 89.00 

Floppy disk 125.00 

20Mbyt< k&| lule 499.00 

1 300 only) 

Podule Backplane 35.00 

Archimedes Pref Manual 29.95 

Assm Lang Prog Manual 1 1.00 

Archmedes software in stock 
MASTER 128 
Complete with internal 
Software 346.00 

Master •Turbo Upgrade 99.00 

Master Econet Module 40.00 

Master 512 Upgrade 189.00 

Universal second | it 75.00 
Eprom Cartridge 13.00 

Reference Manual Part I 13.00 

Reference Manual Part 2 13.00 

BBC MASTER COM PA CT 
ENTRY SYSTEM 
* 128k* ‘Single 640K Drive* 

•Bundled Software* 313.00 

TVSYSTEM 

•I28K* ‘Single 640K Drive* *UHF 
Modulator* ‘Bundled Software* 

326.00 

MONO SYSTEM 

*I28K* 'Single 640K Drive* ‘Bundled 
Software* *12" High Res Monochrome 
Monitor’ 358.00 

COLOUR SYSTEM 

*I28K* 'Single 640K Drive* ‘Bundled 
Software* *14" Medium Res Colour 
Monitor* 491.00 

MONITORS 

Phillips BM 7502 

12" Hi res P3I Green Phospher Screen. 
CVBS input Audio input Band width 20 
MHz. 2000 CHRS Display 68.00 

Phillips BM 7522 

Amber Screen 82.00 

Phillips BM 7542 

Dedicated WD phosphor Screen monitor 

82.00 

Phillips BM7513 

I/' Green IBM compatible 104.00 

Taxan KX117 

12" Green Screen P3 1 77.00 

Taxan KX1 18 

I/' Green Screen P39 86.00 

Taxan KX119 

I T PUL Amber Screen 86.00 

Taxan Super Vision 620 260.00 

COLOUR MONITORS 

Phillips CM8833 

14"CVBS and RGB medium resolution 
colour monitor IBM PC compatible Fast 
blankup to enable superimposing 
Stereo Audio Ear phone socket 600 dots 
x 285 lines vertical 234.00 

Phillips CM88S2 

1 4" RGB professional med res colour. 700 
dots x 285 251.00 

Phillips CM8873 

1 4" RGB high resolution colour monitor 
Res 850 x 480 478.00 

MONITOR TO TV CONVERTER 

AV 7300 Colour tuner module Push 
button control 1 2 preset channels. Built 
in aerial Compact design Composite 
video only 60.00 

SWIVEL BASE 

1 ilt and swivel base for 1 2"or 1 4"momtor 

or iv "Looks very elegant'* at art 

unbeatable price 9-00 


SERIAL & PARALLEL T SWITCHES 

Parallel T switch |? way) 20.00 

Parallel T Switch |4 wav) 25.00 


MITSUBISHI DISC DRIVES 

Source 100% BBC compatible slimline 
disk drives All drives supplied complete 
with formatting diskette, 
comprehensive users manual and all 
necessary cables All drives are 40/80 
Track switchable at the front and have 
two years warranty 
S’/*" Drives without P.S.U. 

400A Single 400K Double Sided 98.00 
SD 802C Dual 400K Double Sided 

190.00 

5'/*" Drives with P.S.U. 

400B Single 400K. Double Sided 

1 17.00 

SD 802E Dual 400K Double Sided 

204.00 

SD 802D Dual 400K Drives horizontally 
mounted in a monitor stand to fit both 
the BBC B and the Master series 

230.00 

Mitsubishi Bave drives uncased with 
40/80 SWltCh 77.00 

SOURCE DISC DRIVES 
Source SD35 3 " disk drive, sinqlr • c Irive 

69.00 

Source SD352 3 /" dual drive 1 25.00 
Supplied cased complete with cables, 
powered from computer Extended two 
year warranty 

Source SD35S 3 " single drive with 

PSU 99.00 

Source 352S 3 ' "dual drive with P S U 

173.00 

SPECIAL OFFER 

Source 35S Combo Dual 5 : rand 3' 

160.00 

Source SD3545S Combo dual 5 t"and 
3 !/ " drives with P S U 216.00 

WINCHESTER DISC DRIVES 
Source HD20 Twillstar’s 20 Mbyte 
winchester drive including Acorn DFS 
ROM complete with PSU 433.00 

Source HDP201 Twillstar's 20 Mbyte 
winchester drive and a 400K double 
sided floppy drive built in a plynth to 
accommodate monitor on the top rind 
the computer underneath Includes 
ADFS ROM and P.S.U 694.00 

Source TS10 10 Mbyte tape streamer 
backup unit with utilities 565.00 

Other size hard disks are available, 
please call for our latest prices 
FLOPPY DISCS 

Raven SVVpdCkof 10 in a clear library 

box 13.04 

Raven 5'/i" rainbow colour pack of 10 

13.04 

Raven 3 Vi" single sided puck of 10 in 
library box 12.00 

Raven 3 VY' double sided pack of 1 0 in 
library box 22.00 

LOCKABLE STORAGE BOXES 
Trackmaster 5VV' 70 

7.00 

Trackmaster 5VV* 100 x 5 " Fable 

9.00 

Trackmaster 3 Vi" 40 x 3’ " lockable 

6.00 

Trackmaster 3 1 /?" 100 x 3 ‘ " lockable 

9.00 


PRINTERS 

CANON PW 1 080 A 

80 column 160 cps draft 40 cp\ NLO 
Built in friction & tractor feed 216.00 
CANON 55 A 

Wide version IBM compat 347.00 
NEW JUST ARRIVED 

STAR LC- 10 182.00 

New enhanced version complete with 
IBM 8 Parallel Interface 
Sheetfeecler POA 

STAR LC- 10 Colour 199.00 

Ribbon 4.70 

MP200 

200 cps draft 40 cps NLO 7K buffer (128 
downloadable characters in NLO) 
optional 8K memory 255.00 

MP201 

As MP200 with 136 columns 299.00 
MP135 

135 cps. 80 column printer Friction 
tractor feed. NLO Epson & IBM 
Compatible 126.00 

MP480 

480 cps dot matrix printer 74 cps NLO. 
80 column Epson 8 IBM compatible. 
Std parallel 303.00 


SPECIAL OFFER OF 
THE MONTH 

CITIZEN 1200 117.00 

Dal Matrix Printer IPOcps 
NLO 2 year warranty 
You have to see the quality 
at this price 

CITIZEN LSP 100P 175.00 

l20/25cps 80 column Centronics IBM 
Parallel 

CITIZEN LSP 100S 199.00 

1 70/25cps 80 column RS232 Serial 

EPSON PRINTERS 

LX-800 199.00 

FX-800 320.00 

FX-1000 433.00 

EX-800 399.00 

Ex-1000 545.00 

LQ-800 430.00 

LQ-1000 580.00 

LQ-2500 865.00 

SQ-2500 1126.00 

NEC PINWRITER P2200 275.00 

Cut sheet feeder 59.00 

Serial interface kit 55.00 

Font cartridge 25.00 

NEC SPINWRITER 8800 
8810 RS232 885.00 

8815 RS232 (Diablo) 885.00 

8830 Centronics 885.00 

8850 IBM PC 885.00 

NEC PINWRITER P9XL 
P960XL 885.00 

P965XL Senal/Paraiiel 970.00 

NEC SILENTWRITER LC86+/LC890 
LC866+ 1870.00 

LC890 2995.00 

NEC PINVX/RITER P5XL 
P565XL Senal/Parallel 740.00 

Pin tractor 50.00 

Bi-directional tractor 125.00 

Single bin cut sheet feeder 240.00 

Double bin cut sheet feeder 440.00 
Font cartridge 40.00 

RAM cartridge 30.00 

NEW NEC PINWRITER P6/P7 


OFFICIAL NEC UK PR ODUCTS 

SPECIAL OFFER 
NEC P2200 PINWRITER 

275.00 + vat 



The ultimate matrix printer for business 
Prm speeds of 265cps in draft and 90cps 
in letter quality. Inbuilt tractors A paper 
park and low tear off facility Twenty 
inbuilt fonts as standard A font cartridge 
facility for greater flexibility An amazing 
80K byte print bufer. 24 pin printhead 
Centronics parallel interface Compatible 
with previous NEC 24 pin printers 
P6 80 characters 434.00 

P7 1 36 characters 608.00 


PANASONIC KX-P3 13 1 

Fully Formed Serial Impact Daisywheel 
Printer Print speed I7cps Diablo compatible 
print wheels Print pitches available are 10. 
12. 15 and proportional spacing. Standard 
friction feed and optional tractor Standard 
Centronic optionulRS232C Built with 6K text 
buffer expandable to 32K buffer 251.00 
BROTHER HR 20 

Daisywheel 8K standard buffer upgradable 
to I6K Standard senal/parallel port 338.00 
JUKI Daisywheel 

Juki 6100 286.00 

MP26 Daisywheel 

Universal compatibility with almost all 
personal computers at an unbeatable price 
Speed 26 cps 132 columns Diablo 630 
compatible 216.00 

Optional Tractorfeecf 82.00 

Optional Sheet feeder 126.00 

GAKKEN GPR-2000 

Print speed of 18 characters per second Fully 
Qurne compatible Takes Qurne exchangable 
Daisywheel and ribbons Selectable 10. 12 & 

1 5 pitch Supports proportional spacing 
Standard friction feed Tractor/cut sheet feeder 
and serial interface optional 1 46.00 


FREE PRINTER CABLE 
FREE PRINTER STAND 
FREE 200 SHEETS PAPER 
SHEET FEEDER £59.00 
RIBBON £5.50 
W* SPEND MORE . , 

1 . 

1 - with a tear bar for quick, easy nti And 

packing ^T^on^you insert cut sheets 
the front feed functim ie^ y Qf thc prjnler 

I Prlnt^aM^ ^ 1 ^ tarvM,cl < * ra * t 

° 2mm 

I diameter. 2x12 staggered array 

NEC MONI.UIO 

MULTISYNC PLUS •/;•;•*•*• V* <** V4* *,*’ 768) n " ’ :• 1 

for use with ^automatically scans! 

IBM PC compatible rrn 21 8 KHz to 48 KHz and] 

.,11 horizontal from 50 to 90 HZ K supports 

standards ; 450.OO I 

MULTISYNC II •; *: V"' V resolution monitor offe'M 

an the oenefics of w . n ibmXT/AT and PV| 

and Vertical Hold modes 1 575.00 1 

MULTISYNC XL ... ..... . '••**** * " ’ * * V * r V*so it j 1 1 00 of 1074 x 7681 

A 70 inch colur monitor offering « incJ vertical l 

and Iras * ,0 90 

^ -'«CA^Ma„pnra : , oo [ 

supports MDA of five frequent .es 

standards, ft autor natrc a ly ,, ,-,n the above major 

graphics ^stanenvds and IMS « « 

from 50 to 70 HZ n 00.00 1 

M O N O G RAPH ’ ' ‘ j*£ ‘ ' "7 * n’,” no;' jra p'h ' "vs tern 

Aldus Pagemaker and Xno. s| 

Ventura Paqemake r — 

SPECIAL OhhtiK 


( SAVE 29.00 ) 


FREE 

PRINTER 

CABLE 


FREE 
200 SHEETS 
OF PAPER 


FREE 
PRINTER 
STAND 

When you buy a 

The faster and enhanced KX-f lOo 
cps in draft mode. 24 cps «, 
in NLO mode Fullv Epson 
RX80 and IBM Matrix and /•■ 

Graphics Printers 

compatible Standaid 
friction and tractor 

interface is optional — 



iwulsiah] 


APEX HOUSE 
BLANDFORD ROAD 
NORWOOD GREEN 
SOUTHALL 
MIDD UB2 4HD 
® 01-574 5271 or 
re 01-571 5938 
Telex : 25247 Telex G.attn TIL 
Fax: 01-574 4326 


You can purchase any of the Items listed. All you have to do Is write your 
requirements on a sheet of paper, and we will despatch your goods within 24 
hours, subject to availability. Please add the following amounts for Postage 
Packing. . ( 


v\\^ 




Items below 10 00 addl.50 
Items below lOO OOadd 3.50 


Items below 50 00 
Items over 1 00 00 


add 2.50 
add 8.00 






vJJ ,u<*> 




(UK Mainland only) All prices exclude VAT. Please add 15% VAT to all orders 
Prices correct at time of going to press but subject to change without notice 
Please make cheques payable to TWILLSTAR COMPUTERS LTD. 

Access/Visa Card Holders: Welcome. 

VISIT OUR MEGA-COMPUSTORE OPEN 9am - 6pm Monday to Saturday 


vj?' 














■ 


PRINTER REVIEW 


24-pin printers is reliability. All the com- 
ponents are much smaller and finer than 
those in 9-pin models, and the pins are 
expected to move faster too. Some of the 
machines, notably the Citizen and NEC 
models, are very lightly constructed. It 
may be that they will not prove as reliable 
or long-lasting as similarly priced 9-pin 
models, but only time will tell. On this 
point, we’d appreciate comments from 
readers with similar machines. 

Most printer reviews today seem to be 
just a collection of comparisons of the 
specifications between the machines, plus a 
few sample print-outs. For this review, 
each person in the Acorn User office was 
allocated a printer to use for about a month 
and has reported back on how they found 
it for daily use. The four printers reviewed 
here represent a fair cross-section of low to 
midprice 24-pin machines which are cur- 
rently available. 

The typefaces used by each of the prin- 
ters have slight differences (see earlier 
boxes). We printed out a standard letter 
with the Courier font on each of the 
printers, using a new ribbon and standard 


Citizen 

Toshiba 

Panasonic 

NEC 

HQP-40 

P321SL 

KX-P1540 

P2200 

35.5 

26.5 

19.5 

18.5 


Figure 1 . Office poll results - points out of 50 


The typefaces u 
each of the pri 
have slight dif 
ences* So we p 

Figure 2. Dotty NLQ from 9-pin printers 


The typefaces u 
each of the pri 
have slight dif 
ences . So we p 

Figure 3. Preferred print-out: theTaser printer 

business stationery. We then asked a sam- 
ple of 10 office workers which they prefer- 
red. Each ranked the four printers dif- 
ferently, but overall the preference was 
strongly for the Citizen's output, as 
summarised in figure 1. 

The Toshiba ranked second, with the 
Panasonic and NEC holding up the rear. 
Two telling comments, though: no-one 
would be dismayed at receiving a business 



CITIZEN HQP-40 


The first step when using a new printer is 
connecting it to your computer. The 
HQP-40 comes with both parallel and 
serial interfaces as standard. This means 
that it can be used immediately with BBC 
B, Master 128, Compact and Archimedes 
computers. Electron users will have to 
add the Plus 1 to their machines. The 
connection sockets are located on the 
right-hand side at the front. 

The HQP-40 has the most accessible 
dip switches I’ve ever seen in a printer. A 
simple press on the front panel opens a 
little door to reveal the whole set. Top 
marks for this! 

The tractor mechanism is situated at 
the back of the printer. Paper can then be 
fed from a box beneath the printer and 
carried out behind (onto a shelf, say). 
This means the paper is pushed into the 
printer and then gripped by the carriage. 
The HQP-40 also allows the tractor 
mechanism to be adjusted. This lets paper 
be fed directly under the carriage and 
then pulled out, making it practically 
impossible for paper to misfeed. 

For single sheets, there is an inbuilt 
feeder which automatically guides the 
paper through the necessary parts. I 
found this facility most useful. The auto- 
feeder can be turned off by disabling the 
paper sensor. 

My main use for a printer is rough 
work (testing listings, etc) and letters. For 
letters, I normally switch from my dot- 
matrix printer to a second printer, a 
daisywheel. There are two reasons; first 
the quality and secondly, changing over 
from tractor-feed paper to single sheets 
can be fiddly. Using the HQP-40 elimin- 
ated both these problems. However, us- 
ing the same computer to both work on 
and print from can cause a bottle-neck; 
you have to wait for the printer to finish 
before you can continue working. The 
HQP-40 overcomes this with its enor- 
mous 24k buffer (about 4000 words) that 
frees the computer almost immediately. 

For graphics, the Citizen worked first 
time with UserDump , showing it can 
emulate the FX80 escape codes. It also 
works perfectly with the 24-pin dumps 
published in April and May’s Acorn User. 
On the Arc, the LQ printer driver proved 
ideal with First Word Plus. 

To sum up, I found the Citizen a 
delight to use. 

Rob Miller 



TOSHIBA P321SL 


Of all the printers reviewed, the Toshiba 
3-in-One P321SL was the most stylish. 
The version I had carried a sheet feeder 
with a single bin and I used it for a 
month with a Compact. 

Putting it all together was fairly simple 
and then it was a matter of switching on 
the sheet feeder from the printer’s front 
panel. I used the printer with an FX80 
printer driver taken from our office net- 
work. This worked for simple bold and 
underscore, with a hash sign (#) used to 
get a pound (£). Trying to get fancy 
effects messed things up though, showing 
a lack of Epson-compatibility beyond the 
absolute basics when in Toshiba mode. It 
was also tested with First Word Plus on 
the Arc. Here the IBM Proprinter mode 
was used, with the US character set. This 
mode is far more compatible, as the table 
on page 45 shows. Pound signs can then 
be set up with a printer driver. 

Three typefaces are provided as stan- 
dard, and there is a quiet option. Choice 
of typeface is controlled from a 
calculator-like display on the front panel. 
This can be set up easily to present just 
the most frequently-changed options 
such as pitch, lines per inch, page length 
and so on. More obscure options can be 
obtained by going through a menu sys- 
tem. There are no dip switches. All three 
faces are attractive and readable. 

The 3-in One on its own worked well. 
Continuous paper loads from the back 
and there’s no wasting the first sheet as 
with the tractor feed. The sheet feeder 
proved reliable and easy to fit, and is 
turned on from the printer control panel. 
The one problem to appear was that the 
bold print blurred. This seemed to be 
because the paper bail rollers which nor- 
mally hold paper are not used when the 
sheet feeder is in action, so paper can 
move fractionally before the second 
printing pass. This can be easily avoided 
by feeding sheets in singly. 

We tested out the Toshiba with the 
Epson-compatible Userdump printer 
ROM. The lines per inch was set to 8 
with no line feed, but we still got blank 
strips. This is because it is not Epson- 
compatible in the way it accepts ‘ESC L’ 
commands to set the line spacing. 

Ribbons (at £10 each) and printheads 
were easy to remove and fit. 

To sum up, pricey but nice. 

Tony Quinn. 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


115 






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116 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 








PRINTER REVIEW 


letter printed on any of these printers. 
Many people dislike the dotty nature of 
9-pin printer output (figure 2), but the 
print-out from all the review machines was 
acceptable. However, everyone preferred 
the sixth version of the standard letter, 
which came from an Epson GQ-3500 laser 
printer, shown in figure 3. 

Each of the printers can also accept extra 
font cards, plugging into a slot on the side 
or rear. A couple of the printers tested 
offer a small selection of fonts in LQ 
mode, but for those who don’t, font cards 
can be purchased separately. 

As with the Epson LQ range, the 24-pin 
printers reviewed here (and some more 
modern 9-pin models too), can have prob- 
lems with some graphics software. This 
arises because old Epson printers (for ex- 
ample the FX80) move the paper in multi- 
ples of l/72nd or 1/2 14th of an inch. 
Newer printers have adopted 1 /60th and 
1/1 80th as the smallest units. This has most 
effect with graphics - old screen dumps 
won’t work, as they leave gaps between 
each line of the picture. But other software 
is affected too — for example desktop 
publishing software such as Stop Press and 
even the May hew Telonics Sciways ROM. 
However, more and more new software is 
including support for 24-pin printers, so if 
you do buy one, keep a lookout for this. 

Overall the Panasonic proved to be a 
robust printer, with easy-to-use controls. 
But it offered only a basic Courier font in 
letter quality, and this was generally dis- 
liked by our panel. The Citizen was a 
delight to use, with a large printer buffer 
built in and accessible dip switches. It 
emulated the Epson LQ-800 perfectly, and 
its version of Courier was chosen as the 
best by our panel. It probably represents 
the best value for home use. 

The Toshiba offers the businessman a 
fine, stylish printer, with a sheet-feeder 
option that makes easy work of printing 
professional-looking letters. But it is quite 
expensive, and it is not Epson-compatible. 
Not recommended for home use. 

In comparison, the NEC P2200 was 
llimsily built. It was the least liked of the 
models tested, and did poorly with the 
panel judging the quality of the print-out. 
However, it is by far the cheapest of this 
selection of printers, and offers good com- 
patibility so is reasonable value for money. 
Panasonic KX-P 1 540, £665. Citizen FIQP- 
40 , £499. NEC P2200 , £395; sheet feeder , 
£67 ( review model supplied by Twillstar 
Computers). Toshiba P321SL, £545; sheet 
feeder, £225. 

ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 



PANASONIC KX-P1540 


Panasonic’s wide-carriage 24-pin printer 
was, in most circumstances, easy to use. 
It’s solidly built, and is by far the largest 
and heaviest of the printers reviewed. The 
ability to print up to 136 columns of 
normal text is a real boon for business use 
- in particular for printing out spread- 
sheets. If you don’t need this, then in the 
autumn, Panasonic will be producing a 
new style 80-column 24-pin printer too. 

Connecting the KX-P 1540 to a BBC 
micro or an Archimedes is easy - parallel 
and serial connections are standard. 

The printer’s front panel controls are 
very neat, and you can swap easily be- 
tween draft and letter quality - even in 
the middle of a document. One problem 
with using wide-carriage printers arises 
when you put in narrow 9-inch paper; 
the printer can print off the edge of the 
paper onto the roller. Buttons on the 
front panel of the KX-P 1540 allow you 
to set an absolute margin, beyond which 
the printer won’t go, thus solving the 
problem. Plus there’s a dip switch setting 
if you’re using 9-inch paper all the time. 

The printer seemed totally compatible 
with the Epson LQ command set, includ- 
ing its 24-pin graphics and it can emulate 
the IBM Proprinter too (useful if you use 
the Arc’s IBM Emulator). Certainly it 
worked well with View, Interword and 
First Word Plus on the Arc. The Epson- 
LQ driver allowed graphics to be printed 
too. But the Panasonic worked perfectly 
with the three 24-pin dumps printed in 
Acorn User (Top of the List in the April 
and May issues). And it can emulate most 
FX80 8-pin graphics too, with the picture 
stretched vertically, it can’t emulate the 
FXSO’s ‘proportional’ graphics mode, but 
proportional graphics can be done in 
24-pin mode. 

The ribbon is one of the easiest I’ve 
seen to replace. Good news on ribbon life 
too: once it dries out, you just push a 
button and it gets re-inked from a little 
foam pad inside the ribbon cartridge. 

An annoying feature of the tractor feed 
is that paper coming out of the printer 
tends to get wound in again. All printers 
can do this, but the Panasonic tended to 
do it more than most. You certainly need 
to fit the wire rack at the back to make it 
reliable. Overall a robust workhorse, but 
expensive because it is a wide-carriage 
model. 

Graham Bell 



NEC P2200 


After using an Epson RX80 manually 
fed printer I was looking forward to 
using the automatic feeding NEC P2200. 
Connecting it to my Compact was a 
simple task and I was ready to begin. 

It isn’t the most compact-looking prin- 
ter I have ever seen; it stands high in 
comparison to others. And the quality of 
construction did not reach the quality of 
the others. Some of the components 
seemed flimsy, and wheels and levers 
always felt as if they were too flexible. 

The sheet feeder, which was relatively 
easy to fit, makes the printer sit higher 
still. There is an adjustable paper guide 
fitted so that paper is not fed in crooked- 
ly, but the paper must be carefully fanned 
in the feeder tray so that it will be fed in 
one sheet at a time. 

Single sheets may also be fed in by 
hand through a separate feeder behind a 
neat little ‘removable’ door on the front 
panel of the printer. This option ought to 
be handy for printing long letters, letter- 
head paper first and plain paper thereaf- 
ter. But I found that paper tended to 
crumple when fed in this way. The trac- 
tor feed for continuous paper was reliable 
and caused no problems, and the ribbon 
proved simple to replace. 

There is only a single font on the 
printer- Courier- in letter quality, plus 
there’s a quicker and quieter draft mode 
for more general use. This can be selected 
via the switches on the front panel, 
though sometimes during the test they 
were unreliable. You can also select the 
character pitch. Optional font cartridges 
costing £33+ VAT are available for other 
type styles. 

I found no difficulty using the printer 
with View, or with First Word Plus on 
the Archimedes. Printer drivers made up 
for the Epson LQ printers worked well. 
As with the other 24-pin printers tested, 
the NEC wasn’t totally happy with 
graphics software, often leaving gaps be- 
tween lines of the picture. But it worked 
perfectly with special 24-pin screen 
dumps, and with all other software tested 
that offered LQ support. It appeared to j 
dc perfectly compatible with the ‘stan- 
dard’ Epson LQ800. 

To sum up, when 1 was used to the 
printer 1 found it relatively easy to use. 
But if buying one of my own 1 don’t 
think I would choose this model. 

Pauline McLernon 


117 




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118 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


DTP 

DESIGN THE FRONT PAGE 

This new regular page from Tony Quinn 
will help all desktop publishing enthusiasts perfect their pages 


The first thing that many people want to 
do with their page design system is to 
make a newspaper. Yet the result can be 
disappointing. Obviously, being limited to 
10-inch printer paper is a problem. How 
many real newspapers do you know in that 
format? It is possible to paste pages 
together to make a longer sheet, but here 
are some tips for front pages without 
resorting to this. 

Long-time Acorn User readers might 
remember two Abuser pages in 1985. In 
July that year, we did a page mimicking the 
Daily Express , and in September The Sun- 
day Times, and I like to think we got the 
look about right, even on A4 paper. The 
vital part was copying the design tech- 
niques and typestyles of the real thing. We 
couldn’t have the same number of col- 
umns, but using five columns instead of 
eight for the broadsheet version of The 
Sunday Times was enough. These pages 
were typeset in a very small size (8 point - 
normal Acorn User text is 10 point). This 
can’t be done on BBC packages, so it’s 
impractical to have more than four col- 
umns on a page. Even at this width you 
have to be careful that large gaps don’t 
open up between words. Using short 
words and breaking words with hyphens 
by hand helps. 

Daily Hlail _2£J 


BA airliners in drama at 5,000 feet 

JETS MISS 
DISASTER 
BY YARDS 


Hurd pledges 
mor e police 
to fight 
crime war in 


the shires 




Mimicking the Daily Mail in Stop Press vj\\h guide 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


So divide up your standard page into four 
columns. These should give about 15 let- 
ters across a column with two-letter gutters 
in between. I used AMX Stop Press to get 
16 characters per column using the 80- 
character font set at minimum size with 9 
point depth. Add some markers down the 
side for quarter, third and half-page depths 
and you have a standard page grid. Then 
find out how many lines you get down the 
page. I got 47, plus the masthead. Print 
some of these grids out and use them to 
work out page designs with a pencil. It’s 
then much easier to see what you’re doing. 

You’ll sec I’ve done a front page here in 
the style of the Daily Mail , although the 
typefaces are different. Note the detail 
around the change in column widths, and 
the rules. It’s the overall design that counts 
and this was all worked out on paper first, 
right down to the depth of headlines, the 
spaces above and below them, and so on. 
The text is mostly gibberish and the pic- 
tures are irrelevant, although the shape of a 
photo or graphic will usually dictate the 
page design. 

National papers are a special case of 
course, and their front pages are unique to 
the paper. A design style that is adopted by 
local and trade papers, and for inside pages 
on nationals, including broadsheets like 


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rules for page left in place. Right, pencil sketch for 


The Independent, is called ‘modular’. In 
this, stories form regular blocks, and it’s 
used by papers and magazines - including 
Acorn User. Some examples and variations 
are shown here. Note how headline clashes 
are avoided by using pictures and how 
bold text adds vertical or horizontal stress. 
Also there should be space - called ‘work- 
ing white’ - around headlines and they 
should not be cramped right on top of text. 
The Guardian is the greatest proponent of 
‘working white’, although taking it to these 
lengths is a matter of taste. 

Take a look at various papers, see how 
they compare and how you can copy a 
certain page design. You should be able to 
spot modular patterns, most often with 
variations. It is these variations and diffe- 
rent use of type which persuades the eye 
that pages are very different, but if you 
start comparing papers daily, it should 
soon become clear how the patterns repeat, 
especially in the more disciplined papers 
such as the Mail. It’s taken them years to 
settle on these shapes and styles, so don’t 
ignore the lessons they carry. 

If you've got any design or typography 
questions to ask, or if you just want to show 
us what you've done, write to Design 
Clinic, Acorn User, 20-26 Brunswick Place, 
London Nl 6DJ. 





modular page on standard grid 


1 19 



EDUCATION 

THE NETWORK PAGE 

You can share a teletext receiver between several 
stations, with the help of this new communication protocol 


The Magnus Connection marketed by BP 
uses two Econet stations to model BP’s 
personnel movement system. It simulates 
communication between onshore and 
offshore bases to track the location of 
workers. However, the main reason for 
station-to-station communication is usually 
to share a resource. We already have file- 
servers, printer-servers and, as described in 
the May issue of Acorn User , graphics- 
dump servers. But this article presents a 
new protocol, endorsed by both Acorn and 
SJ Research, for starting up station-to- 
station communication. 

The best approach seems to be for the 
client to send out a ‘Where are you server?’ 
sort of message and get back an T’m here’ 
message from the server. Econet provides 
an ideal method for performing such an 
operation. It allows a station to ‘broadcast’. 
This is a short message which can be 
picked up by any station on a network, 
provided it is listening. 

Before explaining this in detail it is 
probably best to say something about 
ports. Every message on the Econet has a 
port number and station number attached 
to ensure it arrives in the right place. In 
some ways it is rather like directional radio 
transmitters and receivers. When you 
transmit a message, the station number 
attached to it is deciding which way you 
point your transmitter aerial. The port 
number attached to it is like the frequency 
you are transmitting on. The listening 
station has to decide which way to point its 
aerial (which station number to listen for), 
and also has to be tuned to the right 
frequency (listening on the same port as 
the transmitting station sent its message 
on). For a message to be received both 
stations must have their aerials pointing at 
each other and tuned to the same frequen- 
cy; that is, be using the same port number 
and the right station numbers. 

But broadcasting is like having a trans- 
mitter which emits in all directions. In the 
Econet transmit block this is the special 
meaning given to a station number of 0. It 
is also possible for the receiving station to 
listen for any other station, again by using 



The G1S teletext adapter . . . 



. . . Morley Electronics’ model . . . 



... and Acorn’s own adapter 


the special station number 0. After a 
broadcast is received, the receiver can re- 
ply. Then both stations know the station 
number of the other (the transmitting sta- 
tion number is also attached to each mes- 
sage) and they can switch to normal trans- 
mit and receive. 

Possible confusion may arise from hav- 
ing several different types of server on a 
network, or indeed several of the same 
type. One solution would be to allocate 
each server a port of its own. However, the 
number of ports is limited. So a more 
practical solution is for the client to send 
the name of the server it would like to talk 
to in the broadcast message. As a further 
extension, the server also sends back to the 
client the base port number on which 


further communication should take place. 
This is similar to the technique used by the 
file-server for transferring data. 

The general method for a client to find a 
server is first to open a receive block on 
port &B1 for any station. The next step is 
to broadcast on port &B0 the name of the 
server you want, then poll the receive 
block until a reply has arrived. Read the 
reply to find the station number of the 
server and the base port on which further 
communication is to proceed. 

The server should open a receive block 
on port &B0 for any station. When a 
message arrives, see if it contains this 
server’s name. If not, reopen the receive 
block. If it does, transmit a message to the 
client on port &B1 specifying the base port 
on which further communication should 
take place. The full protocol for finding a 
server is shown in the box opposite. 

The binary version number allows the 
client to intelligently select the most up-to- 
date server software if a choice is available. 
Server-dependent information which may 
be returned at data +3 could be some 
indication of how busy the server is, as this 
would again allow the client to select the 
most favourable server. 

To illustrate the use of the agreed pro- 
tocols, the network teletext server software 
broadcast frequently by the BBC has been 
modified. It remains essentially the same as 
the server software broadcast by Ceefax 
and available from the SJ User Group, but 
now conforms to the agreed ‘find server’ 
protocols. The system consists of three 
programs which start on the yellow pages 
and continue on page 123. First, a Basic 
program TFS which runs in the server 
machine with the teletext adaptor. Second- 
ly, a machine code routine, Code , which is 
loaded at &900 by the program TFS. 
Thirdly, a machine code program Teletext 
which runs in the local machine, the client. 

The Teletext program locates at 
&FFFF6F00 and so should not corrupt any 
but the longest Basic program in the 
client’s memory. It will work with all 
versions of the BBC B, B-F, Master 128, 
ET, Compact. To install the programs 


120 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 




place the Teletext program in S.LIBRARY. 
Here it can be used by anyone on the 
network by simply typing "TELETEXT. 
Put TFS and Code in a directory of their 
own. This might be the root directory of a 
separate user called TFS. If this user has a 
'.BOOT file which CHAINs the TFS prog- 
ram, the whole system can be started by 
typing T AM TFS. The machine running 
the TFS program must not use shadow 
screens or a second processor if the header 
is to be broadcast correctly, as it is peeked 
directly from the screen. An old BBC B is 
ideal for this application, just as it was for 
the graphics dump server described in 
May’s Acorn User. 

The first action of the Teletext client 
program is to open a receive block for the 
teletext server’s reply. This receive block 
listens to all stations on port &B1, as at 
this stage the client does not know the 
station number of the server. It then 
broadcasts to all stations on port &B0 with 
a data field containing Teletext , this being 
the name to which the server will respond. 
The client then polls the receive block until 
a server responds or Escape is pressed. 

When the server replies, the client reads 
the reply and stores the server’s station 
number. The base port number (&B2) is 
used to calculate the port numbers to use 
for further communication. The client 
selects mode 7, prints the server’s station 
number and the version number of the 
server software. Then the client opens 
three receive blocks: one on port &B5 
(base-f-3) ready to receive any page headers 
which arrive, one on port &B2 (base) ready 
to receive any server replies, and one on 
port &B4 (base+2) to receive any pages. 

The first request is for page 1100 - 
remember that the first digit indicates the 
channel number. This is on port &B3 
(base+1) with a control byte of &81. The 
reply receive block is then polled until the 
server responds. The position in the queue 
returned by the server is printed at the 
bottom of the page, and a new receive 
block for replies is set up. 

The client polls both port &B4 for a 
page and port &B5 for a header, until one 
or the other receives a transmission. If a 
page header is received, then the cursor is 
moved to the header position and it is 
printed out. An identical receive block is 
then set up to replace the one which has 
been used. Once a page is received, the first 
action is to test the control byte. If this is 
&80 then it indicates the page has been 
found and is in the receive block buffer 
ready to be transferred to the screen. If the 


control byte is &81 then this indicates 
some error has occurred and that an error 
message is in the receive block buffer 
waiting to be printed. A successfully re- 
ceived page is displayed and a new receive 
block for a page is set up. The header 
receive block continues to be polled and 
displayed until a key is pressed. 

All the time the receive blocks are being 
polled, the client program also tests to see 
if a key has been pressed. If it has, this is 
taken to mean that you are about to 
request a new page. Most keys allow you 
to select a new page. If C is pressed, you 
can select a new channel, then a new page 
number. If Return is pressed, then the last 
page you requested is requested again. If R 
is pressed, then concealed parts of the page 
are revealed. Pressing R again conceals 
them. If * is pressed, then any star com- 
mand can be entered. This allows you to 
"‘SAVE pages and so on. 


The Escape flag is continually polled so 
that you can exit at any time. Pressing 



PROTOCOL FOR FINDING A SERVER 

Client to Server 

port 

&B0 

control byte 

undefined 

data 

name of the server in 


capitals padded with 


spaces to a length of 


eiiiht char as ASCII data 

Server to Client 

port 

&B1 

control byte 

undefined 

data 

0 or error number 

data4-l 

base port number for 


further exchanges 

data +2 

binary version number 


of the server software 

data +3 

server-dependent 


escape sends a logoff instruction to the 
server which stops it looking for any more 
pages for you. 


One of the features of the normal use of 
teletext is that pages roll. For example, the 
cricket scores have more than one screen of 
information. These screens are displayed in 
sequence. An approximation to this facility 
is available from the server. Pressing S will 
enable the automatic rolling of sub-pages 
signalled with a high-pitched beep. Rolling 
can be disabled by pressing S again (with a 
low-pitched beep). 

This implementation of sub-pages is a 
compromise, in that as more clients use 
this feature, the server will be overloaded. 
For this reason automatic rolling must be 
deliberately selected for every new page. 

The TFS program makes as full use as 


possible of the ATS ROM’s ability to 
search for several pages at once. The 
theoretical maximum is 20, but the size o: : 
the program limits this to about 10. The 
only real problem is that it is still only 
possible to search for pages on one channe 
at a time. 

The approach adopted is to place a page 
request into one of four queues, one for 
each channel. If the number of pages in a 
queue exceeds the maximum number of 
pages for which the ATS ROM has space 
then a ‘Channel busy’ error will be re- 
turned. A record is also kept of the total 
number of pages requested and this is the 
queue position returned to the client - not 
the position in the queue for a particular 
channel. The way the ATS ROM works 
means that if you are third in the queue 
you may still receive your page before the 
client who is in first position. This is 
probably best illustrated by an example. 
Suppose these requests are issued: 

Station 12 page 170 on channel 1 

Station 14 page 400 on channel 4 

Station 17 page 123 on channel 1 
The TFS program will select channel 1, as 
this is the highest priority item in the 
queue. Now suppose that as it selects 1, the 
BBC is broadcasting page 1 12. The pages 
are broadcast almost in order. This means 
that station 17’s page (123) will arrive 
before station 12’s page (170). Thus station 
17 will receive its page first even though it 
was third in the queue. 

Overall the response time of the system 
is very fast, although it will obviously be 
slowed down if clients request non-existent 
pages. The cycle times for the different 
channels are important to the efficiency of 
the TFS program - this is the time it takes 
to broadcast all the teletext pages. As these 
times may be subject to change, they have 
been included in a DATA statement at the 
very end of the program. The first DATA 
statement is the fraction of the cycle time 
for which the TFS program will wait 
before sending a sub-page. This is current- 
ly 0.5. The second DATA statement con- 
sists of the cycle times for the four chan- 
nels in hundredths of a second. They are 
currently set to 40 seconds each. 

You will find in the protocols section 
over the page, a further non-teletext related 
call is included in the TFS server. This 
returns the value of the analogue ports, so 
that various devices can be attached to the 
analogue port of the server and can be 
sampled from anywhere on the network. 
At Wellington College, we are using this to 
monitor the outside temperature. 


ACORN USER AUGUST 19S8 


121 


EDUCATION 


TELETEXT SERVER PROTOCOLS 


All communications between teletext ser- 
ver and client are conducted on ports 
base-base+3 (currently &B2-&.B5). 
Transmissions from client to server are 
on port &B3 and replies from the server 
arc on port &B2. Port &B5 is reserved 
for broadcasting the current page number 
being picked up by the server and port 
&B4 is used for transmitting the page 
itself. 

It is necessary to use four ports because 
the client may wish to have three receive 
blocks open at the same time: one to 
continually update the page header, one 
to request other information and one to 
receive the page itself. The page currently 
being received is broadcast on port &B5 
and consists of four bytes: 

Byte 1 Channel number in ASCII 
Bytes 2-4 Page number in ASCII 
All transmissions to the server will result 
in a reply being sent. It gives up if a ‘Not 
listening’ error occurs five times. There 
arc two standard forms of reply. 

■ If an error has occurred (eg, you have 
requested a silly page number or channel 
number) then the first byte of the reply 
data will be an error number and the 
following byte will be an error message 
terminated by a carriage return. 

If no error has occurred, the first byte of 
the reply data will be zero and the subse- 
quent bytes will be dependent on the call 
issued. 

Read teletext server version number 
Client to teleserver: 
port &B3 

control byte &80 

data nil 

Teleserver to client: 
port &B2 

control byte &80 

data "0 or error number 

data+1 version number as 

character string ended 
by carriage return 


Issue page request 
Client to teleserver: 


port 

control byte 
data 


&B3 

&81 

channel number in 

ASCII 


data+l-data+3 page number in ASCII 
Teleserver to client: 
port &B2 

control byte &81 
data 0 or error number 

data4-l position in queue 

Cancel page request 
Client to teleserver: 
port &B3 

control byte &82 

data nil 

Teleserver to client: 
port &B2 

control byte &82 

data 0 or error number 

data4-l nil 

Read max users per channel 
Client to teleserver: 
port &B3 

control byte &83 

data nil 

Teleserver to client: 
port &B2 

control byte &83 

data 0 or error number 

data4- 1 max users 

Read date and time 
Client to teleserver: 
port &B3 

control byte &84 

data nil 

Teleserver to client: 
port &B2 

control byte &84 

data 0 or error number 

data4- 1 time and date in ASCII 

(HH :MM :SSDD/MM/ 
YYYY) . 

Logoff 

Client to teleserver: 
port &B3 

control byte &85 

data nil 

Teleserver to client: 
port &B2 

control byte &85 

data 0 or error number 

data4- 1 nil . 

Page request with time delay 
Client to teleserver: 


&B3 
&86 

channel number in 

ASCII 

data4-l-data4-3 page number in ASCII 


port 

control byte 
data 


Teleserver to client: 
port &B2 

control byte &86 

data 0 or error number 

data4- 1 position in queue 

Request port value 
Client to teleserver: 
port &B3 

control byte &87 

data port number in range 

0 to 3 

Teleserver to client: 
port &B2 

control byte &87 

data 0 or error number 

data4- l-data4-2 port value 

Reception of the teletext page The teletext 
server sends the page on port &B4. The 
control byte will be &80 if no error has 
occurred, otherwise the control byte will 
be &81. The only error that will occur will 
be a ‘Timed out’ error (ie, you have 
probably asked for a non-existent page). 
The data in the receive block buffer will be 
the page requested if there is no error, 
otherwise the data will be an error message 
terminated by a carriage return. If you 
successfully receive a page then locations 
&3FE into the receive block buffer will 
contain the sub-page number in BCD for- 
mat. &3FE contains the hi-byte and &3FF 
contains the lo-byte. 

Error numbers 
Possible error numbers are: 

1 Bad page number 

2 Bad channel 

3 Channel busy 

4 Time unavailable 

5 Bad port 
If an error is received then an error mes- 
sage terminated by a carriage return will be 
returned in data4-l. 

The server’s receive buffer is &50 bytes. 
It transmits a block of &400 bytes on port 
&B3 when transmitting a page and trans- 
mits a block of &20 bytes in all other cases 


122 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


< Network listing 2 continued from page 96 

2790 IF FNpol ltxOO THEN PRINT* ''Not listenin 
g ( " ; FNstat i on (st7.) ; " ) " ; 

2800 ENDPROC 
2810 : 

2820 DEF FNpol ltx 
2830 REPEAT 
2840 AX-&32 

2850 r*/.= (USR (osbyte) AND &FF00) DIV MOO 
2860 UNTIL r7.< 128 
2870 =r% 

2880 ; 

2890 DEF FNsetuprx (p*/., st*/., b7., 1 7.) 

2900 ?blk*/.=0 
2910 blk*/.?l=8<7F 
2920 blkX?2«p*/. 

2930 blk7.!3=sty. 

2940 bl k% ! 5“b*/. 

2950 blk7.!9=by.+l*/. 

2960 X7.=blk*/.:Y"/.=X*/. DIV 256:A*/.=M1 
2970 CALL osword 
2980 =?bl kX 
2990 : 

3000 DEF FNpol 1 rx (rX) 

3010 AX=&33: X7.=r*/. 

3020 =USR (osbyte) AND &S000 
3030 : 

3040 DEF PRQCreadrx (rX) 

3050 7blkX«rX 

3060 Xy.=bl k7.s Y*/.=X7. DIV 256:A*/.=M1 
3070 CALL osword 
3080 ENDPROC 
3090 : 

3100 DEF PROCnetwork 

3110 IF FNpol lrx <B7.) >0 THEN PROCdeal wi thmess 
age 

3120 IF FNpol lrx (BB7.) >0 THEN PROCdeal wi th-f i n 
d 

3130 ENDPROC 
3140 s 

3150 DEF PROCdeal wi th-f ind 
3160 PROCreadrx (BB7.) 

3170 1 ogon7.?8=13 

3180 IF $1 ogon*/.=server$ THEN PROCtxserver i n-f 

0 

^ 3190 BB‘/.=FNsetuprx (-f i ndserverport , 0, logon7., 8 

3200 ENDPROC 
3210 : 

3220 DEF PROCtxserveri n-f o 
3230 stationX=blk*/.!3 AND &FFFF 
3240 PRINT* FNstat ion <station7.) ; TAB (8) ; " — FIN 
D SERVER—"; 

3250 ?logon7.=0 
3260 logon*/.?l=8<B2 
3270 1 ogonX?2 ss bi nvers'/. 

3280 % ( logon*/.+3) =server$ 

3290 logon7.?ll=0 

3300 $ ( 1 ogonX+12) =versi on$ 

3310 PROCtx ( server responseport , &S0, stati an7., 

1 ogonX, &20) 

3320 ENDPROC 
3330 : 

3340 DEF PROCdeal wi thmessage 
3350 PROCreadrx (B7.) 

3360 station*/.=blk"/.!3 AND &FFFF 
3370 control X=blkX?l 
3380 ! dataX= ! messageX 

3390 PRINT* FNstat ion (stationX) ; TAB (8) ; "CODE 
s " ; '''control 7.; " "; 

3400 IF control X=&81 THEN PROCrequestpaqe (FA 
LSE, &81 ) 

3410 IF control */.=8<80 THEN PROCversion 
3420 IF control */.=8<82 THEN PROCcancel 
3430 IF control X=&83 THEN PROCmaxusers 
3440 IF control */.=8<84 THEN PROCtime 
3450 IF control 7.=&85 THEN PROClogo-f-f 
3460 IF control */.=S<B6 THEN PROCrequestpage (TR 
UE, &86) 

3470 IF control X=&87 THEN PROCtemp 
^3480 B*/.=FNsetuprx (server inport, 0, message7., &5 

3490 ENDPROC 
3500 : 

3510 DEF FNstation (stnoX) 

3520 net$=FN-f ormat (3, stno7. DIV 256)+"." 

3530 =net$+FN-f ormat (3, stno7. MOD 256) 

3540 s 

3550 DEF FN-f ormat (zX, -f orm’/.) 

3560 -f orm$=STR$ (-f orm’/.) 

3570 =STRING$ (zX-LEN (form$) , "0">+-form* 

3580 s 


3590 DEF PROCmaxusers 
3600 PRINT"Max users"; 

3610 ?message*/.=0 
3620 messageX?l=maxchanpageX 
3630 PROCtx (serveroutport , &83, station7., messa 
ge7.,2) 

3640 ENDPROC 
3650 : 

3660 DEF PROCtemp 
3670 port*/.=?dataX 
3680 PR I NT "Request port ";port7.; 

3690 IF port7.<0 OR port7.>3 THEN PROCerror (&B 
7,5, "Bad port") s ENDPROC 
3700 7messageX sa 0 
3710 message7. ! 1=ADVAL (port7.) 

3720 PROCtx (serveroutport, &B7, station’/., messa 
ge7.,3) 

3730 ENDPROC 
3740 s 

3750 DEF PROCaddarecord 

3760 resul t*/.=FNal ready (num7. (ChX) -1 , page*/. (Ch7. 

, num7. (Ch7.) ) ) 

3770 IF resul t*/.=-l THEN PROCuni que (num*/. (chan 
neiy.)) ELSE PROCnotuni que (num7. (channel 7.) , resu 
l tV.) 

3780 ENDPROC 
3790 : 

3800 DEF PROCversion 
3810 PRINT" Versi on number"; 

3820 ?messageX=0 

3B30 $ (message’/.+ l ) =versi on$ 

3840 PRDCtx (serveroutport , &80, station*/., messa 
geX, &20) 

3850 ENDPROC 
3860 : 

3870 DEF PROCt i meanddate 
3880 nowX=TIME-l astupdateX 

3890 hrs$=FNf ormat (2, (hrsX+ ( (nowX+100*secsX+ 
6000*mins*/.> DIV 360000) )M0D 24) 

3900 mi ns$=FN-f ormat (2, (mi ns’/.+ ( (now*/.+ 100*secs 
7.) DIV 6000)) MOD 60) 

3910 secs$=FNf ormat (2, (secs7.+ (now’/. DIV 100)) 

MOD 60) 

3920 t i me$=hrs$+" : "+mins$+": "+secs$+date$ 

3930 ?message7.=0 

3940 $ (messageX+1 ) =time$ 

3950 PROCtx (serveroutport , &84, station*/., messa 
ge7., 22) 

3960 ENDPROC 
3970 : 

3980 DEF PROCgetti meanddate 
3990 *CH1 

4000 IF queue‘/.=0 THEN TIME=0 
4010 notime*/.=FALSE 
4020 PROCdelay (150) 

4030 PROCcal 1(21) 

4040 lastupdate*/.=TIME 

4050 IF blk’/.?10=S<FF THEN not i meX*TRUE: ENDPRO 
C 

4060 bl k 7.73= 13: bl k*/.?6=13: bl k 7.79= 13 
4070 hrs*/.=VAL(*(blkX+l) ) 

4080 minsX=VAL($(blkX+4) ) 

4090 secs*/.=VAL($(blkX+7) ) 

4100 PROCcal 1 (15) 

4110 tenthousands= ( 10* (bl k7.?8 AND &F0) DIV & 

10) + (blk*/.?B AND &F) 

4120 thousands^ (bl k*/.?9 AND &F0) DIV MO 
4130 hundreds=bl k*/.?9 AND 8<F 
4140 tens=(blk"/.710 AND &F0) DIV MO 
4150 units=blk*/.?10 AND 8<F 

4160 jd= 10000 *tenthousands+ 1000 *thousands +10 
0*hundreds+10*tens+uni ts 
4170 y 1= (100* (jd- 15078. 2) ) DI V 36525 
4180 .~<=INT( (jd-14956. 1-INT (365. 25*yl ) ) /30.6 
001) 

4190 IF ml< 14 THEN k=0 ELSE k=l 
4200 days7.=jd-14956-INT (365. 25*yl ) -INT (30. 6* 
ml ) 

4210 months /i=m 1-1-1 2* k 
4220 yearsX=yl+k 

4230 date*=FN-f ormat (2, days*/.) + " /"+FN-f ormat (2, 
months*/.) +"/"+FNf ormat (4, year sX+ 1900) 

4240 ENDPROC 
4250 : 

4260 DEF PROCnotime 
4270 ?message7.=4 

4280 $ (messageX+1 ) ="Ti me unavailable" 

4290 PROCtx (serveroutport , &B4, stati on*/., messa 
ge*/., 22) 

4300 ENDPROC 

4310 : Continued ► 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


123 



EDUCA TIO N 


◄ Network Page listing 2 continued 

4320 DEF PROCti me 

4330 PRINT"Request time"; 

4340 IF not i me*/. “TRUE THEN PROCnotime ELSE PR 
OCti meanddate 
4350 ENDPRQC 
4360 s 

4370 DEF FNchannel 
4300 PROCcal 1 (0) 

4390 * (bl k7.?l ) +1 
4400 : 

4410 DEF FNlegal (char'/.) 

4420 IF char'/.<32 THEN char'/.=255 
4430 “char'/. 

4440 s 

4450 DEF PRDCrequestpage (rol 17., byte'/.) 

4460 page*“CHR$ (FNlegal Cdata7.?l) )+CHR$(FNleg 
al (data7.?2) ) +CHR$ (FN1 egal <data7.?3) > 

4470 page'/.“VAL (page*) 

4400 channel '/.*?data'/.-40 

4490 PR I NT "Request page ";page$;" on "jchann 
el 7.; 

4500 page*“CHR* (data7.?l ) +CHR$ <data‘/.?2) +CHR* ( 
data7.?3) 

4510 PROCcheckmatchingsts 

4520 IF channel 7.< 1 OR channel 7.>4 THEN PROCer 
ror (byte7., 2, "Bad channel " ) : ENDPROC 
4530 IF page7.<100 THEN PROCerror (byte7., 1 , " Ba 
d page number "): ENDPROC 
4540 IF num7. (channel 7) =19 THEN PROCerror (byt 
e7., 3, "Channel busy" ) : ENDPROC 
4550 IF (Ch7.=channel7.) AND (FNf reerecord (pag 
e7.) =maxchanpage'/.) THEN PROCerror (byte7., 3, "Cha 
nnel busy" ): ENDPROC 

4560 IF (Ch7.<>channel7.) AND (num7. (channel 7.) = 
maxchanpage7.) THEN PROCerror (byte%, 3, "Channel 
busy") : ENDPROC 

4570 num'/. (channel 7) =num% (channel^) +1 
4500 queue '/.=queue7.+ l 
4590 request7.=request7>l 

4600 stati on7. (channel7., num7. (channel7.) ) “stati 
on 7. 

4610 page7. (channel7., num7. (channel 7.) )=page7. 

4620 requestpr i or i ty7 (channel 7, num7 (channel 7 
) ) “request'/. 

4630 requesttime7 (channel 7, num7 (channel 7) ) -T 
IME 

4640 rol 1-f lag7 (channel 7, num7 (channel 7) ) =rol 1 
7 

4650 marker7=request7 

4660 IF Ch‘/.“channel7. THEN PROCaddarecord 

4670 ?message'/.=0 

4600 message’/.? 1 “queue/. 

4690 PROCtx (serveroutport , byte7, stati on7 (cha 
nnel 7, num7 (channel 7) ) , message7, &20) 

4700 ENDPROC* 

4710 : 

4720 DEF PROCcancel 
4730 PRINT"Cancel pages"; 

4740 PROCtx (serveroutport , &S2, stati on7, messa 
ge7, 1) 

4750 PROCcheckmatchingsts 
4760 ENDPROC 
4770 : 

4700 DEF PRQClogoff 
4790 PRINT"Logof f " ; 

4000 PROCtx (serveroutport , &S5, stati on7, messa 
ge7, 1) 

4010 PROCcheckmatchingsts 
4020 ENDPROC 
4030 : 

4040 DEF PROCcheckmatchingsts 

4050 chan’/.=0 

4060 REPEAT 

4070 chan'/.=chan7.+ l 

4000 item'/.=0 

4090 REPEAT 

4900 item7»item7+l 

4910 IF FNdrop THEN PROCreorder (i tem7, chan7) 

: i tem'/.=i tem’/.-l 

4920 UNTIL i tern’/. >“num'/. (chan’/.) 

4930 UNTIL chan'/.=4 
4940 ENDPROC 
4950 : 

4960 DEF FNdrop 

4970 IF stati on7 (chan7, i tem7) “station/. THEN 
“TRUE 

4900 “FALSE 
4990 s 

5000 DEF PROCerror (con7,err7,err$) 

5010 ?message7=err7 

5020 * (message'/.+ l)=err$ Continued ► 


◄ Network Page listing 2 continued 

5030 PRINT’ "ERROR : “ 5 * (message’/.+ l ) ; 

5040 PROCtx (serveroutport , con7, stati on7, mess 
age7, &20) 

5050 ENDPROC 
5060 : 

5070 *FX 13,5 
5000 *H0FF 
5090 *TTX0FF 

5100 REPORT: PRINT" at line " ; ERL 
5110 END 
5120 DATA 0.5 

5130 DATA 4000,4000,4000,4000 


Listing 3. ^TELETEXT source code 



10 REM Client tTELETE 

670 

STA flagspecific 

XT source 

6B0 

JSR entrytonumber 

20 REM by Alistair Sh 

690 

STA specifictx+2 

i mmin 

700 

STA rxserverbl k+3 

30 REM -For BBC B/B+/M 

710 

JMP broadcastf orse 

/C 

rver 


40 REM (c) Acorn User 

720 

. entrytonumber 

August 1^00 

730 

. number 

50 : 

740 

LDA (pr intptr ) , Y 

60 MODE 7 

750 

CMP #13 

70 HIMEM=&6E00 

760 

BEQ endnumber 

00 f indserverport=$<BO 

770 

CMP #32 

90 serverresponseport 

700 

BEQ endnumber 

=&B1 

790 

CMP #ASC" . " 

100 eventtime=20 

000 

BEQ netnum 

110 *KEY 0 CALL code7i 

010 

SEC 

M 

020 

SBC #40 

120 oscl i “&FFF7 

030 

CMP #10 

130 osrdch“&FFEO 

040 

BCS badnumber 

140 osasci “&FFE3 

050 

LDX #10 

150 oswrch=&FFEE 

060 

. mul tl oop 

160 osword=&FFFl 

070 

CLC 

170 osbyte=&FFF4 

000 

ADC numberstore 

100 osargs=S<FFDA 

090 

BCS badnumber 

190 osnewl “&FFE7 

900 

DEX 

200 br kv=&202 

910 

BNE multi oop 

210 printptr=&AS 

920 

STA numberstore 

220 code7.=&6E00 

930 

INY 

230 : 

940 

JMP number 

240 FOR pass“0 TO 3 ST 

950 

. endnumber 

EP 3 

960 

LDA numberstore 

250 P7=code7 

970 

BEQ badnumber 

260 COPT pass 

900 

RTS 

270 .exec 

990 

. badnumber 

200 LDY #0 

1000 

BRK 

290 LDA #2 

1010 

OPT FNequb (11) 

300 LDX #printptr 

1020 

OPT FNequs ( "Bad st 

310 JSR osargs 

ati on 1 

") 

320 STA nfsflag 

1030 

BRK 

330 CMP #2 

1040 

. netnum 

340 BNE dnfs 

1050 

BIT dot 

350 LDA #1 

1060 

BMI badnumber 

360 JSR osargs 

1070 

LDA numberstore 

370 LDY #255 

1000 

STA specifictx+3 

300 .spaceskip 

1090 

STA rxserverbl k+4 

390 I NY 

1100 

LDA #0 

400 LDA (pri ntptr ) , Y 

1110 

STA numberstore 

410 CMP #13 

1120 

DEC dot: INY 

420 BEQ default 

1130 

JMP number 

430 CMP #32 

1140 

.numberstore OPT F 

440 BNE spaceskip 

Nequb (0) 

450 .spaceskip2 

1150 

.dot OPT FNequb (0) 

460 INY 

1160 

: 

470 LDA (pri ntptr ) , Y 

1170 

. broadcastf orserve 

400 CMP #32 

r 


490 BEQ spaceski p2 

1100 

LDX #localnumber M 

500 CMP #13 

□D 256 

510 BEQ default 

1190 

LDY #localnumber D 

520 JMP continue 

IV 256 

530 : 

1200 

LDA #& 13: JSR oswor 

540 .dnfs 

d 


550 LDA #1 

1210 

JSR printtext 

560 JSR osargs 

1220 

OPT FNequs ( "Tryi ng 

570 LDY #0 

to find TELE-SERVER") 

500 LDA (printptr),Y 

1230 

BRK 

590 CMP #13 

1240 

.f indagainloop 

600 BEQ default 

1250 

JSR setupf indserve 

610 JMP continue 

rrepl yrx 

620 : 

1260 

. logonloop 

630 .default 

1270 

LDA flagspecific 

640 JMP broadcastf orse 

1200 

BEQ notuserspecif i 

rver 

ed 


650 .continue 

1290 

JSR setupfindtx 

660 LDA #1 

1300 

JSR cal 1 tx 



Continued ^ 


124 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


< Network Page listing 3 continued 


1310 

JMP andnowpol 1 

2100 

CL I 


1320 

. not user spec i f i ed 

2110 

LDA 

Hheaderevent M 

1330 

JSR broadcast 

OD 256 


1340 

. andnowpol 1 

2120 

STA 

&220 

1350 

JSR polltx 

2130 

LDA 

Hheaderevent D 

1360 

BIT &FF 

IV 256 


1370 

BPL noescapepress 

2140 

STA 

8t221 

1380 

JSR delete 

2150 

LDA 

brkv:STA brkst 

1390 

BRK 

ore 



1400 

□PT FNequb (All) 

2160 

LDA 

br kv+1 

1410 

□PT FNequs ( ''Escape 

2170 

STA 

brkstore+1 

"> 


2180 

LDA 

Hbrk MOD 256 

1420 

BRK 

2190 

STA 

brkv 

1430 

. wai t 

2200 

LDA 

Hbrk DIV 256 

1440 

LDX Htimeset MOD 2 

2210 

STA 

brkv+1 

56 


2220 

LDA 

H22:JSR oswrch 

1450 

LDY Htimeset DIV 2 

2230 

LDA 

H7:JSR oswrch 

56 


2240 

JSR 

printtext 

1460 

LDA H2 

2250 

OPT 

FNequs ( "Cl P10 

1470 

JSR osword 

0") 



1480 

. del ayl oop 

2260 

BRK 


1490 

LDX Htimeread MOD 

2270 

LDA 

H31*JSR oswrch 

256 


2280 

LDA 

H24:JSR oswrch 

1500 

LDY Htimeread DIV 

2290 

LDA 

H24:JSR oswrch 

256 


2300 

JSR 

printtext 

1510 

LDA HI 

2310 

OPT 

FNequs ( "Server 

1520 

JSR osword 

"> 



1530 

LDA timeread 

2320 

BRK 


1540 

CMP H30 

2330 

LDA 

st+1 

1550 

BCC del ayl oop 

2340 

BEQ 

suppressnetnum 

1560 

LDA localnumber+l 

2350 

JSR 

printdecimal 

1570 

STA timedelay 

2360 

LDA 

H46:JSR oswrch 

1580 

. timedelayloop 

2370 

. suppressnetnum 

1590 

DEC timedelay 

2380 

LDA 

st 

1600 

BNE timedelayloop 

2390 

JSR 

printdecimal 

1610 

RTS 

2400 

LDA 

H31:JSR oswrch 

1620 

.noescapepress 

2410 

LDA 

H24:JSR oswrch 

1630 

JSR wait 

2420 

LDA 

HO: JSR oswrch 

1640 

LDX rxno2 

2430 

LDA 

H14: LDX H5 

1650 

JSR pollrx 

2440 

JSR 

osbyte 

1660 

CMP H&80 

2450 

JSR 

settimeback 

1670 

BCC logonloop 

2460 

JSR 

printtext 

1680 

LDA rxno2 

2470 

OPT 

FNequs ("Versio 

1690 

STA rxblk 

n " ) 



1700 

JSR readrx 

2480 

BRK 


1710 

LDX HO 

2490 

LDX 

HO 

1720 

. testnamel oop 

2500 

. versl oop 

1730 

LDA buf f er+3, X 

2510 

LDA 

buf f er+12, X 

1740 

CMP specif icfindse 

2520 

CMP 

H13 

rver , X 


2530 

BEQ 

ex i tvers 

1750 

BNE wrongserver 

2540 

JSR 

oswrch 

1760 

INX: CPX H8 

2550 

INX 


1770 

BEQ rightserver 

2560 

JMP 

versl oop 

1780 

JMP testnamel oop 

2570 

. ex i tvers 

1790 

. wrongserver 

2580 

JSR 

cursorof f 

1800 

JMP f indagainl oop 

2590 

JSR 

setupheaderrx 

1810 

. ri ghtserver 

2600 

JSR 

f irstaskf orpag 

1820 

LDA rxblk+4 

e 



1830 

STA st + 1 

2610 

. testpagearri ved 

1840 

LDA rxblk+3 

2620 

JSR 

t estescape 


1850 STA st 
1860 LDA buffer 
1870 BEQ noerrorf romser 
ver 

1880 STA logonerror+1 
1890 . logonerror 
1900 BRK 

1910 OPT FNequb (0) 

1920 OPT FNequs ( "Server 
error " ) 

1930 BRK 

1940 . noerrorf romserver 
1950 LDA buf f er+1 
1960 STA serverrepl ypor 
t 

1970 CLCsADC #1 
1980 STA pagerequestpor 
t 

1990 CLCsADC #1 
2000 STA pagerecei vepor 
t 

2010 CLCsADC #1 
2020 STA pageheaderport 
2030 LDX #2s LDA #4 
2040 JSR osbyte 
2050 SEI 
2060 LDA &220 
2070 STA ol devent vector 
2080 LDA &221 
2090 STA ol devent vector 
+ 1 


2630 LDX #0: LDV #0 
2640 LDA H&81 
2650 JSR osbyte 
2660 CPY HO 
2670 BNE nochar 
2680 JSR testchar i nput 
2690 .nochar 
2700 LDX rxno 
2710 JSR pollrx 
2720 CMP H&BO 
2730 BCC testpagearr i ve 
d 

2740 LDA HI 

2750 STA gotfirstpage 

2760 LDA H7 s JSR oswrch 

2770 LDA rxno 

2780 STA rxblk 

2790 JSR readrx 

2800 LDA rxblk+1 

2810 CMP H8-.80 

2820 BEQ noerror 

2830 JSR cursorbottom 

2840 LDX HO 

2850 . pri nterrorl oop 

2860 LDA buffer, X 

2870 CMP H13 

2880 BEQ exiterror 

2890 JSR oswrch: INX 

2900 JMP pri nterrorl oop 

2910 .exiterror 

2920 LDA H7: JSR oswrch 


2930 LDA HI 

2940 STA errorflag 

2950 LDX HO 

2960 JSR testchari nput 
2970 JMP testpagearri ve 
d 

2980 .noerror 

2990 JSR displaypage 

3000 LDA rollflag 

3010 BEQ norol 1 1 

3020 JSR returnpressed 

3030 . norol 1 1 

3040 LDX HO 

3050 JMP testpagearri ve 
d 

3060 .headerevent 
3070 PHP 
3080 CMP H5 
3090 BNE notourevent 
3100 PHAs TYA: PHA: TXAs PH 
A 

3110 LDA H&86 

3120 JSR osbyte 

3130 STX possSTY vpos 

3140 LDX rxnol 

3150 JSR pollrx 

3160 CMP H&80 

3170 BCC noheader 

3180 LDA rxnol 

3190 STA rxblk 

3200 JSR readrx 

3210 LDA H31 : JSR oswrch 

3220 LDA HI 5s JSR oswrch 

3230 LDA HO: JSR oswrch 

3240 LDA nfsflag 

3250 CMP H2 

3260 BEQ oldnfsheader 

3270 LDX HO 

3280 . headpri ntl oop 

3290 LDA header+l,X 

3300 JSR oswrch 

3310 INX 

3320 CPX H3 

3330 BNE headpri ntl oop 
3340 JSR setupheaderrx 
3350 JMP noheader 
3360 .oldnfsheader 
3370 LDX HO 
3380 . ol dheader 1 oop 
3390 LDA rxbl k+6, X 
3400 JSR oswrch 
3410 INX : CPX H3 
3420 BNE ol dheader 1 oop 
3430 JSR setupheaderrx 
3440 .noheader 
3450 JSR settimeback 
3460 LDA H31 : JSR oswrch 
3470 LDA possJSR oswrch 
3480 LDA vpos: JSR oswrc 
h 

3490 PL A: TAX: PL A: TAY: PL 
A 

3500 .notourevent 
3510 PLP 

3520 JMP ( ol devent vecto 
r ) 

3530 .settimeback 
3540 LDX Htb MOD 256 
3550 LDY Htb DIV 256 
3560 LDA H4:JSR osword 
3570 RTS 

3580 .pos OPT FNequb (0) 
3590 .vpos OPT FNequb (0 

) 

3600 . oldeventvector OP 
T FNequw(O) 

3610 .gotfirstpage OPT 
FNequb (0) 

3620 .indexflag OPT FNe 
qub (0) 

3630 .errorflag OPT FNe 
qub (0) 

3640 . f i rstaskf orpage 

3650 JSR askforpage 

3660 RTS 

3670 .brk 

3680 JSR osnewl 

3690 LDY HO 

3700 .errloop 

3710 INYsLDA (&FD),Y 

3720 BEQ exiterr 


3730 JSR oswrch 
3740 JMP errloop 
3750 .exiterr 
3760 LDA H&7C 
3770 JSR osbyte 
3780 LDX stackstores TXS 
3790 JSR osnewl 
3800 JMP returnf romerro 
r 

3810 .displaypage 

3820 LDA HI 2 

3830 JSR oswrch 

3840 JSR home 

3850 LDA Hbuffer MOD 25 

6 

3860 STA &AB 

3870 LDA Hbuffer DIV 25 

6 

3880 STA &A9 
3890 LDA H3: STA &AB 
3900 LDA H&E6: STA &AA 
3910 LDY HO 
3920 .displayloop 
3930 LDA HI 
3940 STA indexflag 
3950 LDA (&A8) , Y 
3960 CMP H32 
3970 BCS nobadchar 
3980 LDA H32 
3990 .nobadchar 
4000 JSR oswrch 
4010 CLCsLDA &A8 
4020 ADC HI: STA &AB 
4030 LDA &A9: ADC HO 
4040 STA &A9: SEC 
4050 LDA &AA: SBC HI 
4060 STA &AA: LDA 8<AB 
4070 SBC HO: STA &AB 
4080 BPL displayloop 
4090 JSR home 
4100 LDA H67 : JSR oswrch 
4110 LDA pageinput : JSR 
oswrch 

4120 LDA H32: JSR oswrch 
4130 LDA HBO: JSR oswrch 
4140 LDX HO 
4150 . currentpageloop 
4160 INX:LDA pageinput, 
X 

4170 JSR oswrch 
4180 CPX H3 

4190 BNE currentpagel oo 
P 

4200 LDA HI: STA gotpage 
4210 RTS 
4220 . isr 

4230 LDA HI 3: LDX H5 
4240 JSR osbyte 
4250 LDA H21 : LDX HO 
4260 JSR osbyte 
4270 LDA H23 
4280 STA linecount 
4290 .reveal loop 
4300 LDA H38: STA xline 
4310 -inrloop 
4320 LDA H31 : JSR oswrch 
4330 LDA xline 
4340 JSR oswrch 
4350 LDA linecount 
4360 JSR oswrch 
4370 LDA H&B7 
4380 JSR osbyte 
4390 CPX H152 
4400 BNE noconceal 
4410 LDA H32: JSR oswrch 
4420 JMP nohide 
4430 .noconceal 
4440 CPX H32: BNE nohide 
4450 LDA H152: JSR oswrc 
h 

4460 .nohide 
4470 DEC xline 
4480 BPL inrloop 
4490 DEC linecount 
4500 BNE reveal loop 
4510 LDA H14: LDX H5 
4520 JSR osbyte 
4530 JSR settimeback 
4540 RTS 
4550 .isstar 
4560 JSR cursorbottom 

Continued ► 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


125 


EDUCATION 


◄ Network Page listing 3 continued 




4570 . i sanotherstar 

5400 LDY #0: JSR osbyte 

6210 LDX #11 

7030 OPT FNequb(&43) 

4580 LDA #42: JSR oswrch 

5410 PLP 

6220 .txloop 

7040 OPT FNequs ("No clo 

4590 LDX #star MOD 256 

5420 BEQ notoktorol 1 

6230 LDA reqpage,X 

ck") 

4600 LDY #star DIV 256 

5430 LDA gotpage 

6240 STA txbl k , X 

7050 .line jammed 

4610 LDA #0:JSR osword 

5440 BNE oktorol 1 

6250 DEX: BPL txloop 

7060 BRK 

4620 BCS starescape 

5450 . notoktorol 1 

6260 RTS 

7070 OPT FNequb (&40) 

4630 LDA #13: LDX #5 

5460 RTS 

6270 . setupf indtx 

7080 OPT FNequs ("Line j 

4640 JSR osbyte 

5470 . i sc 1 

6280 LDX #11 

ammed" ) 

4650 TSXsSTX stackstore 

5480 JMP isc 

6290 .txfindloop 

7090 BRK 

4660 LDX #starbuf f MOD 

5490 . testcharinput 

6300 LDA speci-f ictx , X 

7100 .ok 

256 

5500 CPX #42: BEQ i sstar 

6310 STA txbl k , X: DEX 

7110 LDX rxno2 

4670 LDY #starbuf f DIV 

1 

6320 BPL tx-f indloop 

7120 JSR pollrx 

256 

5510 CPX #82: BEQ isrl 

6330 RTS 

7130 CMP #&B0 

4680 JSR oscli 

5520 CPX #114: BEQ isrl 

6340 .cancelpage 

7140 BCC ok 

4690 . returnf romerror 

5530 CPX #83: BEQ isS 

6350 LDA #&82 

7150 LDA rxno2: STA rxbl 

4700 JSR osnewl 

5540 CPX #115: BEQ i sS 

6360 STA reqpage 

k 

4710 JSR cursoroff 

5550 CPX #13: BNE noretu 

6370 JSR transmi tandget 

7160 JSR readrx 

4720 JSR printtext 

rnpressed 

reply 

7170 .testescape 

4730 OPT FNequs ("Press 

5560 LDA gotpage 

6380 RTS 

7180 BIT 8cFF 

any key") 

5570 BNE oktoreturn 

6390 .logo-f-f 

7190 BPL noescape 

4740 BRK 

5580 RTS 

6400 LDA #&B5 

7200 JSR cursorbottom 

4750 JSR osrdch 

5590 .oktoreturn 

6410 STA reqpage 

7210 LDA #4: LDX #0 

4760 CMP #42 

5600 LDA #0: STA roll-fla 

6420 JSR transmi tandget 

7220 JSR osbyte 

4770 BNE notanotherstar 

g 

reply 

7230 LDA #&7C: JSR osbyt 

4780 JSR cursarbottom 

5610 . oktorol 1 

6430 RTS 

e 

4790 LDA #13: LDX #5 

5620 JMP returnpressed 

6440 .ask-forpage 

7240 JSR cursoron 

4800 JSR osbyte 

5630 . noreturnpressed 

6450 LDA #&81 

7250 JSR logoff 

4810 JMP isanotherstar 

5640 TXA: PHA 

6460 STA reqpage 

7260 JSR delete 

4820 .notanotherstar 

5650 LDA error-flag 

6470 JSR setuppagerx 

7270 JSR printtext 

4830 .starescape 

5660 BNE noneedtocancel 

6480 LDA #0: STA gotpage 

7280 OPT FNequs ("Escape 

4840 LDA gotf irstpage 

pages 

6490 LDA roll flag 

") 

4850 BEQ stillonpagel 

5670 PLA: TAY: PHA 

6500 BEQ noroll 

7290 BRK 

4860 LDX rxno 

5680 LDA #138: LDX #0 

6510 LDA #&B6: STA reqpa 

7300 LDA brkstore 

4870 JSR pollrx 

5690 JSR osbyte 

ge 

7310 STA brkv 

4880 CMP #&80 

5700 JSR cancel page 

6520 .noroll 

7320 LDA brkstore+1 

4890 BCS wi 1 ldisplayany 

5710 LDA #0 

6530 JSR transmi tandget 

7330 STA brkv+1 

way 

5720 STA roll -flag 

reply 

7340 LDA #13: LDX #5 

4900 JSR displaypage 

5730 . noneedtocancel pag 

6540 JSR cursorbottom 

7350 JSR osbyte 

4910 . wi 1 ldisplayanyway 

es 

6550 LDA replybuffer 

7360 SEI 

4920 .stillonpagel 

5740 LDX rxno 

6560 BNE replyerror 

7370 LDA ol deventvector 

4930 LDA #&7C: JSR osbyt 

5750 LDA #&34 

6570 JSR printtext 

7380 STA &220 

e 

5760 JSR osbyte 

6580 OPT FNequs ("Item " 

7390 LDA ol deventvector 

4940 LDA #14: LDX #5 

5770 PLA 

) 

+ 1 

4950 JSR osbyte 

5780 CMP #67: BEQ iscl 

6590 BRK 

7400 STA &221 

4960 JSR settimeback 

5790 CMP #99: BEQ iscl 

6600 LDA repl ybuf f er+1 

7410 CLI 

4970 RTS 

5800 LDA error-f lag:PHA 

6610 JSR printdecimal 

7420 PLA: PLA 

4980 .isc 

5810 BEQ noerror-flag 

6620 JSR printtext 

7430 .noescape 

4990 LDA #21: LDX #0 

5820 LDA #21: LDX #00 

6630 OPT FNequs (" in qu 

7440 RTS 

5000 JSR osbyte 

5830 JSR osbyte 

eue" ) 

7450 .setuppagerx 

5010 LDA #0 

5840 PLA: CMP #2 

6640 BRK 

7460 LDX #12 

5020 STA error-flag 

5850 BNE notchannelerro 

6650 RTS 

7470 .moverxloop 

5030 .anothertry 

r 

6660 .replyerror 

7480 LDA rxpage,X 

5040 JSR home 

5860 JMP isc 

6670 STA errorflag 

7490 STA rxbl k, X 

5050 LDA #9: JSR oswrch 

5870 . notchannelerror 

6680 LDA #7: JSR oswrch 

7500 DEX: BPL moverxloop 

5060 LDA #32: JSR oswrch 

5880 LDA #0: PHA 

6690 LDX #1 

7510 LDA st + 1 : STA rxblk 

5070 LDA #8: JSR oswrch 

5890 . noerrorf 1 ag 

6700 . repl yerrorl oop 

+4 

5080 LDX #ci nput MOD 25 

5900 PLA 

6710 LDA replybuffer, X 

7520 LDA st: STA rxblk+3 

6 

5910 STA errorflag 

6720 CMP #13 

7530 JSR setuprx 

5090 LDY #cinput DIV 25 

5920 .andnowpage 

6730 BEQ exitrepl yerror 

7540 STA rxno 

6 

5930 LDA #0: STA roll-fla 

6740 JSR &FFEE: INX 

7550 RTS 

5100 LDA #0: JSR osword 

g 

6750 JMP replyerrorloop 

7560 . setupf indserverre 

5110 BCS wasanescapel 

5940 JSR home 

6760 . exi trepl yerror 

plyrx 

5120 LDA channel input 

5950 JSR printtext 

6770 PLAiPLA 

7570 LDX #12 

5130 CMP #ABC"5" 

5960 OPT FNequs (" 

6780 LDX #0 

7580 . movef i ndrxl oop 

5140 BCS anothertry 

"> 

6790 JMP testcharinput 

7590 LDA rxserverbl k, X 

5150 CMP #A6C"r' 

5970 BRK 

6800 . transmi tandgetrep 

7600 STA rxblk, X 

5160 BCC anothertry 

5980 LDA index-flag 

iy 

7610 DEX 

5170 STA pageinput 

5990 BNE skipblanks 

6810 JSR setupreplyrx 

7620 BPL movef i ndrxl oop 

5180 JMP andnowpage 

6000 JSR printtext 

6820 . setupandretry 

7630 JSR setuprx 

5190 . wasanescapel 

6010 OPT FNequs (" 

6830 JSR setuptx 

7640 STA rxno2 

5200 JMP testescape 

"> 

6B40 LDA st: STA txblk+2 

7650 RTS 

5210 . i sr 1 

6020 BRK 

6850 LDA st + 1 : STA txblk 

7660 . setuprepl yrx 

5220 JMP isr 

6030 .skipblanks 

+3 

7670 LDX #12 

5230 • i sstar 1 

6040 JSR home 

6860 JSR cal 1 tx 

7680 . mover epl yrx loop 

5240 JMP i sstar 

6050 LDA #67: JSR oswrch 

6870 JSR polltx 

7690 LDA rxrepl y , X 

5250 .isS 

6060 LDA pageinput 

6880 CMP #0: BEQ ok 

7700 STA rxblk, X: DEX 

5260 LDA #1 

6070 JSR oswrch 

6890 PHA: JSR wait: PLA 

7710 BPL movereplyrxloo 

5270 EOR roll-flag 

6080 LDA #32: JSR oswrch 

6900 CMP #&42 

P 

5280 STA roll -flag 

6090 LDA #80: JSR oswrch 

6910 BEQ setupandretry 

7720 LDA st+1: STA rxblk 

5290 PHP 

6100 LDX #i nput MOD 256 

6920 CMP #&41 

+4 

5300 BEQ low 

6110 LDY #i nput DIV 256 

6930 BEQ setupandretry 

7730 LDA st : STA rxblk+3 

5310 LDA #&D5: LDX #150 

6120 LDA #0: JSR osword 

6940 PHA 

7740 JSR setuprx 

5320 LDY #0: JSR osbyte 

6130 BCS wasanescape 

6950 JSR cursarbottom 

7750 STA rxno2: RTS 

5330 JMP high 

6140 JSR cursorbottom 

6960 PLA 

7760 . setupheaderrx 

5340 .low 

6150 . returnpressed 

6970 CMP #&40 

7770 LDX #12 

5350 LDA #&D5: LDX #50 

6160 JSR askforpage 

6980 BEQ line jammed 

7780 . moveheaderloop 

5360 LDY #0: JSR osbyte 

6170 RTS 

6990 CMP #&43 

7790 LDA rxheader , X 

5370 .high 

6180 .wasanescape 

7000 BEQ noclock 

7800 STA rxblk, X:DEX 

5380 LDA #7: JSR oswrch 

6190 JMP testescape 

7010 .noclock 

7810 BPL moveheaderloop 

5390 LDA #&D5: LDX #101 

6200 .setuptx 

7020 BRK 





Continued ► 


126 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


◄ Network Page listing 3 continued 

7020 LDA st + 1 : STA rxblk 
+4 

7030 LDA st: STA rxblk+3 
7040 JSR setuprx 
7050 STA rxnol 
7060 RTS 
7070 .home 

7000 LDA #30: JMP oswrch 
7090 . cursorbottom 
7900 LDA #13: LDX #5 
7910 JSR osbyte 
7920 LDA #31: JSR oswrch 
7930 LDA #0: JSR oswrch 
7940 LDA #24: JSR oswrch 
7950 JSR printtext 
7960 OPT FNequs (STRINGS 
( 20 ," ")) 

7970 BRK 

7900 LDA #31: JSR oswrch 
7990 LDA #0: JSR oswrch 
0000 LDA #24: JSR oswrch 
0010 LDA #14: LDX #5:JSR 
osbyte 

0020 JSR settlmeback 
0030 RTS 
0040 .cursoron 
0050 LDA #23: JSR oswrch 
0060 LDA #1:JSR oswrch 
0070 JSR oswrch 
0000 JSR paddingzeros 
0090 RTS 
0100 . cursoroff 
0110 LDA #23: JSR oswrch 
0120 LDA #1 : JSR oswrch 
0130 . paddingzeros 
0140 LDX #0 
0150 .cursorloop 
0160 LDA #0: JSR oswrch 
0170 DEX:BNE cursorloop 
0100 RTS 
0190 .delete 
0200 LDX rxno: LDA #&34 
0210 JSR osbyte 
0220 LDX rxnol: LDA #&34 
0230 JSR osbyte 
0240 LDX rxno2: LDA #&34 
0250 JSR osbyte 
0260 RTS 
0270 .calltx 
0200 LDX #txbl k MOD 256 
0290 LDY #txbl k DIV 256 
0300 LDA #&10: JSR oswor 
d 

0310 RTS 
0320 .polltx 
0330 LDA #&32: JSR osbyt 
e 

0340 TXA: CNP #&80 
0350 BCS polltx 
0360 RTS 
0370 .broadcast 
0300 LDX #bcast MOD 256 
0390 LDY #bcast DIV 256 
0400 LDA #& 10: JSR oswor 
d 

0410 RTS 
0420 .pollrx 
0430 LDA #&33: JSR osbyt 
e 

0440 TXA 
0450 RTS 

0460 .zero-flag OPT FNeq 
ub (0> 

0470 . pr i ntdeci mal 
0400 LDY #0: STY zerofla 
9 

0490 LDX #255 
0500 .hunloop 
0510 INX 

0520 SEC: SBC #100 
0530 BCS hunloop 
0540 PHA: TXA: JSR digit 
0550 PLA: CLC: ADC #100 
0560 LDX #255 
0570 .tenloop 
0500 INX 

0590 SEC: SBC #10 
0600 BCS tenloop 
0610 PHA: TXA: JSR digit 
0620 PLA: CLC: ADC #10 
0630 JSR digit 


0640 RTS 
0650 .digit 
0660 CMP #0 
0670 BNE oktoprint 
0680 BIT zeroflag 
0690 BPL suppressprint 
0700 .oktoprint 
0710 DEC zero-flag 
0720 ORA #48: JSR oswrch 
8730 . suppresspr i nt 
8740 RTS 
8750 .setuprx 
8760 LDX #rxbl k MOD 256 
8770 LDY #rxbl k DIV 256 
8780 LDA #&11:JSR oswor 
d 

8790 LDA rxblk 

8800 RTS 

8810 .printtext 

8820 CLC: PLA: ADC#1 

8830 STA printptr 

8840 PLA: ADC#0 

8850 STA printptr+1 

8860 TYA: PHA 

8870 LDY #0: BEQ print3 

0080 .print2 

8890 JSR osasci 

8900 .print3 

8910 LDA (pr i ntptr ) , Y 

8920 INC printptr 

8930 BNE print4 

8940 INC printptr+l 

8950 .print4 

8960 CMP #0: BNE print2 

8970 PLA: TAY 

8980 JMP (printptr) 

8990 . readrx 
9000 LDX #rxbl k MOD 256 
9010 LDY #rxbl k DIV 256 
9020 LDA #&1 1 : JSR oswor 
d 

9030 RTS 

9040 .local number 
9050 OPT FNequb (8) : OPT 
FNequw (0) 

9060 .timedelay OPT FNe 
qub (0) 

9070 .st OPT FNequw (0) 
9080 .gotpage OPT FNequ 
b (0) 

9090 .roll flag OPT FNeq 
ub (0) 

9100 .nfsflag OPT FNequ 
b (0) 

9110 .rxno OPT FNequb (0 

) 

9120 .rxnol OPT FNequb ( 
0) 

9130 .rxno2 OPT FNequb ( 
0 ) 

9140 .tb OPT FNequd(-ev 
enttime) 

9150 OPT FNequb (&FF) 

9160 .timeset 
9170 OPT FNequd (0) : OPT 
FNequb (0) 

9180 .timeread 
9190 OPT FNequd (0) : OPT 
FNequb (0) 

9200 . f lagspecif ic OPT 
FNequb (0) 

9210 .beast OPT FNequb ( 
&80) 

9220 .findport OPT FNeq 
ub (f i ndserverport ) 

9230 OPT FNequw (&FFFF) 
9240 . speci f icf indserve 
r 

9250 OPT FNequs ( "TELETE 
XT") 

9260 .specifictx 
9270 OPT FNequb (&80) 

9280 .findport OPT FNeq 
ub (f i ndserverport ) 

9290 OPT FNequw (0) 

9300 OPT FNequd (speci f i 
efindserver OR &FFFF0000 
) 

9310 OPT FNequd ( (speci f 
icfindserver+B) OR &FFFF 
0000 ) 


9320 .rxblk 

9330 OPT FNequw (&7F00) 
9340 OPT FNequb (0) 

9350 OPT FNequw (0) 

9360 OPT FNequd (0) : OPT 
FNequd (0) 

9370 .rxserverblk 
9380 OPT FNequw (&7F00) 
9390 OPT FNequb (serverr 
esponseport ) 

9400 OPT FNequw (0) 

9410 OPT FNequd (buff er 
OR &FFFF0000) 

9420 OPT FNequd ( (buffer 
+&400) OR &FFFF0000) 

9430 .rxpage 
9440 OPT FNequw (&7F00) 
9450 . pagerecei veport 0 
PT FNequb (0) 

9460 OPT FNequw (0) 

9470 OPT FNequd (buff er 
OR &FFFF0000) 

9480 OPT FNequd ( (buff er 
+&400) OR &FFFF0000) 

9490 .rxreply 
9500 OPT FNequw (&7F00) 
9510 . serverrepl yport 0 
PT FNequb (0) 

9520 OPT FNequw (0) 

9530 OPT FNequd ( (buff er 
+&400) OR &FFFF0000) 

9540 OPT FNequd ( (buff er 
+&420) OR &FFFF0000) 

9550 .rxheader 
9560 OPT FNequw (&7F00) 
9570 . pageheaderport OP 
T FNequb (0) 

9580 DPT FNequw (0) 

9590 OPT FNequd (header 
OR &FFFF0000) 

9600 OPT FNequd ( (header 
+8) OR &FFFF0000) 

9610 .reqpage 
9620 OPT FNequb (&81) 
9630 . pagerequestport 0 
PT FNequb (0) 

9640 OPT FNequw (0) 

9650 OPT FNequd (pagei np 
ut OR &FFFF0000) 

9660 OPT FNequd ( (pagein 
put+20) OR &FFFF0000) 
9670 .txblk 

9680 OPT FNequs (STRING* 
(12, CHR* 0) ) 

9690 .input 

9700 OPT FNequw (pagei np 
ut + 1) 

9710 OPT FNequb (3) 

9720 OPT FNequw (&FF00) 
9730 .stackstore OPT FN 
equb (0) 

9740 . brkstore OPT FNeq 
uw (0) 

9750 . star 

9760 OPT FNequw (starbuf 
f ) 

9770 OPT FNequb (39) 

9780 OPT FNequw (&FF00) 
9790 . starbuf f 
9800 OPT FNequs (STRING* 
(40, CHR* 0)) 


9810 .cinput 
9820 OPT FNequw (channel 
input) 

9830 OPT FNequb (1) 

9840 OPT FNequw (&FF00) 
9850 .linecount OPT FNe 
qub (0) 

9860 .xline OPT FNequb ( 
0) 

9870 . channel i nput OPT 
FNequw (0) 

9880 .header OPT FNequd 
( 0 ) 

9890 OPT FNequd (0) 

9900 .pagei nput 

9910 OPT FNequs ("1100") 

9920 OPT FNequb (13) 

9930 OPT FNequd (0) 

9940 .buffer 
9950 3 

9960 repl ybuf f er=buf f er 
+&400 
9970 NEXT 
9980 : 

9990 PROCchecksum (&6E00 
, buf f er-1 , &44988) 

10000 PRINT "Press space 
to save code" 

10010 IF GET=32 THEN PRO 
Coscl i ( "SAVE TELETEXT 6E 
00 "+STR*~buf f er ) 

10020 END 
10030 : 

10040 DEF FNequb (byte) 
10050 ?P*/.=byte 
10060 P7.=P7.+ 1 
10070 =pass 
10080 : 

10090 DEF FNequw (word) 
10100 !P*/.=word AND &FFFF 
10110 P'/.=P'/.+2 
10120 =pass 
10130 : 

10140 DEF FNequd (dword ) 
10150 !Py.=dword 
10160 p*/.=py.+4 
10170 =pass 
10180 : 

10190 DEF FNequs (stri ng* 

) 

10200 *P7.=string* 

10210 Py.=Py.+LEN string* 
10220 =pass 
10230 : 

10240 DEF PROCoscli (stri 
ng$) 

10250 DIM X*/. 50 
10260 *X'/.=string$ 

10270 Y7.=X7. DIV 256 

10280 CALL &FFF7 

10290 ENDPROC 

10300 DEF PROCchecksum (s 

t'/., end7., sum7.) 

10310 sy.=o 

10320 FOR r/.=sf/. TO end'/. 
10330 S7.=S'/.+?r/. 

10340 NEXT 

10350 IF S'/.=sum7. THEN EN 
DPROC 

10360 PRINT "Please chec 
k listing" 


TELESOFTWARE 


Although these programs allow you to view all the teletext 
pages , you cannot download telesoftwarc programs directly. 
If however , you have direct access to an adapter , you can 
make use of the service . 

As from August, the BBC will be transmitting a selection 
of programs from Acorn User on their Ceefax service. These 
include a few from this month plus one or two from previous 
issues. You can download the programs using any teletext 
adapter from Acorn, Morley or GIS. They can be accessed via 
the telesoftware index on page 700. 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


127 




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Archimedes owners who buy the System DeltaPlus database 
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payment on any software bought from Minerva. 

For BBC micro owners, System Delta is still the most 
comprehensive and flexible data management system 
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128 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 








COMPUTER 

STUDIES^ 

Sir, I am about to choose my 
third year options at school, 
and am writing about the prac- 
tical use of computer studies. I 
feel that the computer is one of 
the most exciting teaching aids 
for pupil and teacher alike, and 
should be promoted as such. 
Wordprocessing is an immense- 
ly useful tool. Databases and 
graphics can be exploited in 
nearly every subject. But com- 
puter studies itself is not really 
needed; at the moment it is 
merely an extension of physics, 
maths and CDT. 

I think that the material used 
in teaching computer studies 
has a very narrow spectrum. 
During the past two terms I 
have learned the basics of in- 
formation storage using OPE- 
NIN and the like, and also that 
an interface box will allow re- 
lays to be switched on and off 
to allow crude control of a 
motorised toy. Is this what em- 
ployers want? Will Britain rely 
on PRINT# and INPUT# for 
its storage of data? 

Some will say that IBM com- 
patibility is being introduced 
with the Nimbus, but all these 
machines with superb graphics 
are doing is running BBC Basic 
86, Microsoft Word and PC 
Paint. There must be some- 
thing wrong. 

I have nothing against the 
teaching of computer science. 
However I cannot find any 
practical use for this subject 
which cannot be achieved by 
extending existing subjects. 

G Preston 
Henley 




Design your own forms 



A BIGGER 
ORGANISER 


Sir, I own a BBC B with a 
Solidisk 32k sideways RAM 
and also a Panasonic KX-1082 
printer. I use a commercial 
organiser and am very impress- 
ed with it. However, I would 
like to use the design sequences 
to design invoices, etc, for my 
business, on A4 paper. The 
supplier of the program says it 
would be difficult to amend the 
program. R E Wood 

Northampton 

It would indeed be difficult to 
amend the program to cope 
with paper larger than a per- 
sonal organiser. But Mewsoft 
(on 01-267 2642) produces a 
program called A4 Form De- 
signer that should suit. It 
costs £9.95. 


ATARI 
TO ARC 

Sir, I have recently upgraded 
from an Atari ST to an 
Archimedes and I’m very 
pleased with it. After selling the 
ST, I had a 3.5-in disc drive left 
over. It ran perfectly on the ST 
and I was wondering if I could 
connect it to the Arc? 

J Timmins 
Kingswinford 


3.5-in drives could be fitted 
into the Arc’s case, but you 
would have to make up a 
small U-shaped mounting 
bracket to hold the drive at 
the correct angle, and modify 
the grey plastic fascia. If 
mounting the drive external- 
ly, you will need one of the 
special interfaces, as without 
it you can damage the Arc. 
Either a 3.5-in drive or a 5.25- 
in unit can be added. Suitable 



Arc can have extra drive 


interfaces are available from 
CJE Micros, Watford Electro- 
nics, Beebug and others. 


KEY 

SOLUTION 

Sir, I read with interest the 
review of educational databases 
in the May issue of Acorn User. 
Having used Key at school, I 
know the problem of having to 
swap the discs can be overcome 
by using either a double-sided 
or dual disc drive. In both cases 
the Key program disc is used in 
drive 0 while the data disc is in 
drive 2 or 1 respectively. Once 
the data disc has been entered 
as drive 2 or 1 the disc doesn’t 
have to be swapped. 

D Gibson 
Houghton-le-Spring 



CO-PROCESSOR 


CONFUSION 

Sir, can co-processors designed 
for the IBM PC, such as the 
Intel 8087, be used with the 
Beeb? Can you just use a Co- 
Pro adapter? The Intel proces- 
sors seem fairly cheap, about 
£100 for an 8087. If they were 
introduced into the system, 
could memory cards be added 
as well? If this is possible, the 
power of the Beeb could be 
magnified unbelievably. 

B Mumford 

Wimbourne 

No. The 8087 is a dedicated 
floating-point maths chip, 
which can only work with the 
right circuitry. This circuitry 
is usually built into an IBM 
PC - but not a BBC micro. 
And it isn’t even cheap - the 
£100 8087 is just a single chip. 

Acorn co-processors are 
‘whole computers’ on boards 
which plug straight into a 
Master 128, or into a model B 
or B+ via a Watford Co-Pro 
adapter or Acorn Universal 
Second Processor adapter. The 
65C102 co-processor doubles 
the speed of the BBC micro 
with most software, and the 
512 co-processor gives you a 
good measure of IBM PC 
compatibility. 

In fact, IBM PC co- 
processors and expansion 
cards have more in common 
with Archimedes podules and 
co-processors. The planned 
floating point maths podule is 
based around a chip similar to 
the 8087. But although similar 
in concept, you can’t put IBM 
cards in an Archimedes. 


ACORN USKR AUGUST 1988 


129 



PAGEMAKER GRAPHICS 




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rrs uses in education include 


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Structuring Creative Learning Administration/Publicity 


The system includes a comprehensive suite of programs which enables the creation of a database with 
message facilities. This can then be made available to callers using a telephone line and any viewdata 
terminal. Tho package includes comprehensive tutorial and reference manuals and a sample databaso. 

Available in TWO LEVELS FOR USE WITH THE DTI (DaCom or Tandata) SCHOOLS MODEM 


LEVEL1 FRAME EDITOR 
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ready made symbols and icons £7.95 

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Please send me details of CommunITel products. I am particularly interested in (please indicate) 
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TEL AU8 



Communications Software for Acorn Archimedes computers 

U-Connect is a general-purpose, but full-featured communications software package written 
specifically for the Archimedes range of computers, using a combinations of assembler and 'C' 

U-Comect runs exclusively within the Archimedes WIMP environment, fully utilising the concepts 
of multiple windows, icons, and pop-up menus to provide an easy-to-use. flexible, and.attractive 
mouse-driven package 
U-Connect provides. 

Terminal Emulations - Teletype. VT52 .VT 100 and VideoTex (Prestel) 

File Transfers - ASCII XMooem Kermit.CET (PrestelDownload)^ 

I Screen Review -view past text/frames in separate scrolling window 

Modem Drivers ~ support for all common types of modems fully user configurable (Hayes. 

■ Dacom. Pulsed, and Dumb supplied as standard) 

PhoneBooks - Multiple Phonebooks allowed, each with 40 entries, defining phone numbers, 
logon function keys etc . allowing the completeenvironment to be pre-configured automatically 
before connection • v V . 

U-Connect is ideal for the Archimedes User who wishes to connect to remote computer 
services such as Bullet. n Boards. Online Databases. Conference Systems. E-Mail 
systems etc It is supplied on 3 5" disk with a comprehensive user manual covering all 
aspects of the package 

U-Connect is the first .m a range of Magenta Research software packages planned tor 
the Archimedes over the coming months 

Send cheque or PO to 


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5ih Floor: Amp House. Dingwall Road Croydon. CRO 9XA. United Kingdom 
Phone -01 -681 71 79 International -*-441 681 71 79 Telex 9343021 MAGSYS G 


130 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 





LETTERS 




Z88PLUS 


INTERWORD 

Sir, I have recently used the 
article ‘Have Micro - Will 
Travel’ (Acorn User , January) 
to link my Z88 to my BBC 
micro. After a bit of teething 
trouble with the cable, the 
transfer system has worked ex- 
tremely well. 

Pipedream files transfer per- 
fectly well to InterWord as 
they are, but it is better to load 
them at the cursor on an 
opened blank InterWord file. 
To transfer InterWord files to 
Pipedream it is necessary to 
produce a spool file without 
codes, but Pipedream doesn’t 
object to being fed a complete 
InterWord file in error. Because 
InterWord marks the beginning 
of each text line by adding &80 
to the ASCII value of the first 
character, these non-printable 
characters are shown as blue 
squares in Pipedream , so a 
straight file can only be used if 
you are willing to do a fantastic 
amount of editing. 

Carriage return characters 
are recognised in both direc- 
tions so the basic text layout is 
unaltered. However, Pipedream 
doesn’t automatically wrap the 
end of an existing line on to the 
next line, so it is necessary to 
set the margin width in Pipe- 
dream to the same as that used 
in the InterWord file. 

W H James 
Letchworth 

The wiring diagrams given 
with the Z88 article are repro- 
duced above. Each view looks 
into the socket, or the back of 
the plug. The numbering of 
the pins on the BBC micro 
serial port is confusing be- 
cause different brands of plug 
are numbered or lettered in 
different ways. 

Whatever way your plug is 
numbered, it is the location of 



BBC (top) Z88 (bottom) 


1 2 

2 3 

3 7 

4 5 

5 4 

1 

6 


BBC to Z88 connections 

the pin that is important (ie, 
the central one is Ground, 
and must be connected to the 
Z88 pin 7). There is usually a 
cutout in the metal shell of 
the DIN plug too - it doesn’t 
matter whether this goes at 
the top or the bottom, but 
decide before you wire up the 
lead and keep it that way. 



COMPACT 


DFS DISCS 

Sir, I am the owner of a Master 
Compact and wish to upgrade 
the system by adding a 5.25-in 
disc drive and a DFS ROM. I 
would like to know if DFS can 
be used on the Compact’s stan- 
dard 3.5-in drive if the ROM is 
fitted. 

J P McRae 
Guildford 

The 1770 DFS can be used on 
the Compact’s built-in drive, 
and the ROM image should 
be on your Welcome disc. If 
it’s not, get the latest disc 
from Acorn. With any two 
drives, '‘’MOUNT (ADFS) and 
V DRIVE (DFS) are used to 
switch between drives. 


SEEING 

CI1FAX 



Sir, I own a BBC B and a 
television with teletext and an 
RGB socket. I would like to be 
able to download software and 
other pages from Ceefax. 

I know that I need a lead 
from the computer to the RGB 
TV socket but I don’t know if 
other software is needed. 


Could you recommend some? 

A J Wilkins 
Bicester 


You can’t download pages 
from teletext using your tele- 
vision. The RGB socket on 
your TV only allows you to 
use it as a monitor, to display 
the computer’s screen output. 
It can’t be used to transfer 
data from the TV to the com- 
puter. To download Ceefax or 
telcsoftware, you need a tele- 
text adapter from Morlcy or 
the BBC itself. Each comes 
with the appropriate software 
to allow downloading. 


HHH1 

PRI NTING CIRCUIT 
BOARDS 

Sir, J Clyde (Letters, May) re- 
ported trouble in obtaining a 
usable print-out from Joe Tel- 
ford’s PCB design program 
(AU y December 1987). The ver- 
tical spacing of the drawing was 
apparently incorrect. 

This is probably due to many 
screen dumps using different 
horizontal and vertical scales, 
and is commonly experienced 
as circles appearing as flattened 


ellipses when dumped. Mr 
Clyde may be able to resolve 
his problem by including in the 
string of printer codes VDU 
1,27,1,42,1,4 which works with 
many, if not all, Epson- 
compatible printers. Martin 
Phillips gave a full explanation 
in his Hints and Tips article in 
the May 1987 issue. 

H J Henson 
Kilmarnock 



REPLACING 
RAM CHIPS 


Sir, I have a BBC B issue 4 
machine with disc drive anc 
Acorn DFS 0.9. I bought Life 
of Repton (my son insisted, and 
that’s my excuse) only to find 
that it will not run on my 
machine. However, I borrowed 
an old BBC with an issue 3 
board on which it works OK. 

I assumed that my machine 
had a fault somewhere so 1 
wrote a memory test routine 
and discovered not one but two 
faulty locations at &4B4F and 
&5B4F. The test was to write 
&55 and &AA to each address 
and then read it back. From 
this I found that &55 returned 
as &75 which pointed to bit 5 
of the data bus for these loca- 
tions. I subsequently de- 
ciphered that this was being 
contained in IC66. 

After changing IC66 for a 
new chip supplied by Watford 
I found that the fault was still 
present. Do 1 need to find a 
chip with a very fast access 
time to clear this fault? 

W A Hewitt 
Birmingham 

Memory faults such as these 
can stop any program which 
uses that area of memory. 
IC66 should be replaced with 
a 4816-11 RAM chip, but as 
you’ve done this already, take 
a careful look at the sur- 
rounding tracks too. 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


131 



WEES2EM 

TELETEXT (AND TV) ADAPTER: OUR PRICE: £89.99 INC. VAT 

Compatible with Archimedes, BBC, Master and Compact. Professionally built 
and tested, mains powered, on/off switch, TV picture and sound outputs for 
Philips monitors. Connects to the user port on BBC or Master, joystick port on 
Compact and printer port on Archimedes. Downloads free software and 
preselected pages manual or automatic. Stylish 2-tone brown and beige case. 
Supplied with lead, software disc and manual. 


SI 


PC 500 and PC PLUS 


They can be left plugging into the TUBE connector and switched on when 
required. The PC 500 is basicallyan Acorn 801 86 co-processor in a case. 5 1 2K 
RAM, 10MHz 16-bit CPU, mouse, GEM and DOSPLUS. Runs most PC 
software. OUR PRICE: £239 INC. VAT. The PC PLUS comes with 1024K of 
RAM, OUR PRICE: £339.00 INC. 


SOLIDISK SUPER AT SYSTEM 


Our fully IBM compatible PC At (12MHz 80286) offers realistic computing 
power at much lower price than the Archimedes. Please ring for catalogue. 
Example of prices: System unit, keyboard, PSU, serial parallel. Real time Clock: 
£399. WD's HDD/FDD controller + 40MB, 40ms hard disc: £265. RAMchips: 
£6 each. Display options: mono, Super EGA and VGA multisync. All pricesare 
excluding VAT. 



THE MULTIFUNCTION TWOMEG 128K 


4 extra ROM sockets (plus 4 already on the BBC), 1 28K of Shadow RAM and 
Sideways RAM will massively improve your BBC computer. Ring us for full 
specs. OUR PRICE: £60 INC. VAT. 


1772 DOUBLE DENSITY DISC INTERFACE 


The new Acorn DNFS and ADFS require the WD1772 to run. Our 1772 is 
inexpensive and totally hardware compatible with these ROMsand the 801 86 
co-processor. Full specs available. OUR PRICE £35.00 INC. VAT. 


1772 + 8271 DFDC 


Our DFDC will add the 1772 Double Density while retaining your8271 chipon 
the same circuit board. Some DFS ROMS cannot switch, please check with us 
before you buy. OUR PRICE: £40.00 INC VAT. 


DOUBLE DENSITY DFS 2.2 ROM 


This will work with both 1 772 and 8271 (single density only). Overcome DFS 
31 file limit, 60% increase of storage on DD, disc format, verify, edit, recover 
and restore. 16K ROM, truly superior code. OUR PRICE:£15(£10ifpurchased 
with our 1 772 or DFDC). 


ADVANCED ADFS 2.1 ROM SET 


This works only with the 1 772 chip. It has all the features of 2.2 DFS plus a 
more powerful ADFS than the Compact or Master. Two 1 6K ROMs the best 
discoperating system for the BBC. OUR PRICE: £30(£20 if purchased withour 
1772 or DFDC). 


SUMMER SALE! 


MASTER PACK: 

Acorn Master 1 28K computer plus 3.5" double sided disc drive. RRP: £549 
OUR PRICE: £449 inc. VAT. 


ARC MEGA PACK: 

Acorn Archimedes 310, 20MB Winchester, 14" Multisync colour Monitor, 
full specs available. RRP £2,199, OUR PRICE: £1 ,999 inc. VAT. 

ATARI SUMMER PACK: 

New model Atari 520STFM 51 2K RAM but with 1 MB double sided disc drive, 
£400 worth of free software, mouse and joystick, full specs available. A sure 
winner. RRP £399, OUR PRICE: £359 including £20 discount vouchers. 


PHONE 0702 354674 
TO PLACE AN ACCESS/VISA ORDER. 
Second Hand BBC's Bought, Sold and PX. 


Solidisk Technology 

17Sweyne 

Avenue 

Southend-on-Sea 

Essex 


QUICK REPAIR 
SERVICE 

£20 + PARTS 


SS26JQ 


Mijas Software 

~ Brinpng Ov» •oftw worid lo YOUR BBC Micro 


Firs! With • 

Relocatable Assembler and Linker 
first with Source-Level Debug 
Now bring you a New ‘C Compiler 


Updated ! Exciting ! Fast ! 'C' Compiler 

A NEW Software system 
for real performance and productivity 
on YOUR BBC MICRO. 

Use it for games New version 15 

buisness or industrial software. compiles faster, runs faster 
Ideal for learning structured and even easier to use 

programming and compiler techniques, on ANY BBC B or Master. 

Written in 'C' itself for speed and portability 

FULL SOURCE-CODE of the 'C' Compiler 
and libraries with EVERY COPY. Can be modified 
and re-compiled on any BBC 'B' or MASTER. 


Small £ C’ v 1.5 

A true compiler. Does not use p-code 
Full Source-Level Debug 
Full I/O and C libraries 
Separately compilable source-files 
Produces ’stand-alone’ programs of minimum size 
Full support of BBC Graphics 
Screen Mode may be changed at any time. 
40+K of Program space even without overlays 


Shell ROM image provided giving a 'MAKE' facility. 
Use any editor, a simple line editor is included. 

Write your own BASIC, PASCAL FORTRAN 
or Artificial Intelligence Compiler using this 'C' system 

Complete System including Assembler 
Linker, Debug, Shell and utilities 
in ROM Image format on disk 

O £■ r\ Ready-blown EPROMS 
ACCESS welcome tOU £7.50 each, set of 4 £25 

From:- Mijas Software, Mijas, Winchester Rd. 
Michedever, Hants S021 3DG 
Tel 0962 89 352 

Official orders welcome from educational establishments 




BRITISH BROAIKASTINI. CORPORATION 
MASTtW Stmts MHUlHOMriTU 


CSS COMPUTER CENTRE 


Unit 3A, 

Townfoot Industrial Estate, 
Brampton, 
Cumbria CA81SW 


Educational, Home and Business 
Systems 

Acorn and SJ Research Authorised 
Dealers 

Network Specialists * Peripherals 
S 06977 3779 

Cumbria Software Systems Limited 

Acorn# 

The choice of experience. 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


132 













LETTERS 



.STRATEGY 

REVIEW 

Sir, LEAs are currently in the 
process of reviewing their com- 
puter hardware and software 
strategy for schools. This is 
largely in response to the DES’ 
Information Technology in 
Schools initiative. Possibly for 
the same reason, more hard- 
ware manufacturers are seeing 
education as an important mar- 
ket. And recognising that com- 
patibility between machines 
and software is regarded as an 
important consideration by 
those in education; manufactur- 
ers are claiming that their pro- 
ducts have that compatibility. 

LEAs are right to want max- 
imum compatibility, because of 
the substantial investments that 
have been made in purchasing 
educational software and 
associated curriculum materials, 
and in training staff to use them 
effectively. But it is difficult for 
LEAs to interpret the claims of 
manufacturers with regard to 
the practical aspects of their 
particular situation. 

The National Council for 
Educational Technology is 
therefore undertaking an urgent 
assessment of a selection of the 
new 16- and 32-bit computer 
systems, to determine the ex- 
tent to which each of those 
systems will interconnect with 
the range of hardware already 
in the schools and the extent to 
which such systems will run 
existing educational software in 
common use. 

The council is proposing to 
complete this study by the end 
of October 1988. Detailed and 
objective advice can then be 
provided to LEAs in time for it 
to be used when deciding pur- 
chasing policies for the present 
financial year. 

Dr Noel Thompson 
Chief Executive 
National Council for 
Educational Technology 



Nimbus VX: one new system 


Readers who have had experi- 
ence in using software on the 
new machines, (the Macin- 
tosh, IBM PC, Archimedes 
and Nimbus AX and VX for 
example) should contact Dr 
Thompson at NCET, 3 De- 
vonshire Street, London, 
WIN 2BA 



COLD 


POWER 

Sir, Joe Telford’s ‘Blowing Hot 
and Cold’ in the May 1988 
Acorn User draws attention to 
the use of a real-time tempera- 
ture plotting program to save 
energy costs. 

I have been using the BBC 
model B for four years to 
monitor temperatures inside 
and outside the house, also the 
temperatures within the re- 
frigerator and in the pipes to 
the central heating radiators. 

The passage of warm and 
cold weather fronts make good 
viewing; the most rapid rise of 
temperature I ever noticed was 
on the night of October 15 last 
year as the big storm 
approached. The cycling of the 
refrigerator shows up wasteful 
patterns of use, and the saving 
when thawing frozen goods in 
the refrigerator is obvious from 
the trace. 

However, there is a problem. 
This application requires the 
computer to be in almost con- 
tinuous use. I find that after 


every two years the power 
supply becomes unhappy. It 
will start and run when warm, 
but it will not start from cold. 
This is probably due to failure 
of a single component, but we 
are expected to replace the en- 
tire unit at about £60. Has 
anyone else experienced this 
problem and found a cheaper 
solution other than leaving it 
on all the time. 

John Chambers 
Surrey 

There is a similar problem 
with network fileservers, 
which are often left on almost 
continuously. It arises because 
capacitors used in the power 
supply degrade. Power sup- 
plies are not easy to repair, 
but Riverside Systems (Unit 
15, Riverside Workshops, 28 
Park Street, London SE1 
9AB) will replace broken pow- 
er supplies with reconditioned 
units for £40. 



LIMITS 


OF ARC 

Sir, I agree entirely with the 
points made by R York (Letters, 
July 1988) about the expanda- 
bility of the Archimedes. 

Although 1Mbyte appears to 
be a lot of memory, it is 
already obvious that many us- 
ers will find it insufficient. The 
MS-DOS emulator is limited in 
1Mbyte machines, and there 
will certainly be little memory 
spare for RAM discs and prin- 
ter buffers. Many users will 
want the ROM and interface 
podules and this will be the 
limit for the hardware expan- 
sion of the 300 series. 

Although the raw power of 
the Archimedes is very attrac- 
tive, the Atari ST and the Com- 
modore Amiga (which has just 
come down in price), have 
more users and software, and 
are half the price of a 300 series 
machine. The justification for 


paying for an Archimedes is as 
much the knowledge and soft- 
ware that BBC micro owners 
have built up, as the very high 
performance. 

I would like to buy an 
Archimedes but am reluctant to 
buy a 300 series machine and 
cannot possibly afford an 
A440. With the continuing abs- 
ence of the A410 from the 
range, this means that I wait 
and may be attracted by 
another machine in that time. 

John Haines 
London 



PLAYING 

GAMES 


Sir, while trying to run certain 
disc-based BBC games on Mas- 
ter 128s in my place of work, I 
find that some refuse to load 
and some have corrupted 



Evening Star: requires CONVERT 


graphics. Is there any command 
that can be entered to make the 
Master emulate a Beeb more 
accurately? 

Thomas Crossey 
Merseyside 

The majority of BBC games 
will work on the Master 128, 
but sometimes they need a 
little ‘tweaking’. Corrupted 
graphics are often caused by 
loading character definitions 
into the wrong memory. 

This problem arises because 
the model B and Electron 
models use a memory at &B00 
to store user-defined charac- 
ters, whereas the Master uses 
&8900 for all its characters. 
There is a utility on the Mas- 
ter Welcome disc called 
‘CONVERT’ that will sort 
out this problem. 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


133 






EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE 
* BARGAIN PRICES * 


TITLES 
Maths Pack 
Pick a Word 
Jigsaw Puzzle 
Sliding Block Puzzle 
Colour Snap 
Shape Snap 
One Two Three Snap 



RRP 

Our 



RRP 

Our 

CODE 

(Cass) 

Price 

TITLES 

CODE 

(Cass) 

Price 

BE. 

11.95 

0.99p 

Nursery Rhyme 

B 

9.95 

0.99p 

B.E.C. 

9.95 

0.99p 

The Basic Lesson 

BE. 

11.95 

0.99p 

B.E.C. 

9.95 

0.99p 

The Graphic Lesson 

B.E. 

11.95 

0.99p 

B.E.C. 

9.95 

0.99p 

Utility Pack 

B.C. 

7.95 

0.99p 

B.E.C 

11.95 

0.99p 

Drawing Pictures + Puzzles 

B.E.C. 

11.95 

0.99p 

B.E.C. 

11.95 

0.99p 

Learning Compodium 1 

B.E.C. 

11.95 

0.99p 


BE. 11.95 0.99p 


B- BBC. E- Electron and C- Concept keyboard 



E40.00 

Torch Z80 ZEP 100 Second Processor (allows CPM on BBC B or Master) ~ 

£55.00 


Postage: Software El , (over 6 titles free). Drives £2.50, Z80 El .50 
Trade and Education Enquiries Welcome. 


Letters/Cheques to: 

MEYERS LEISURE PRODUCTS 
7, TURNERS TOWER, 

FAULKLAND, Nr. BATH SOMERSET 

BA3 5UP 

Tel: 0373 87459 


m3m 


INTEGRATED CAD/CAM 

For IBM PC compatibles and the BBC Micro series 

Used in EDUCATION and INDUSTRY world wide these packages are 
sophisticated, menu driven and user friendly, providing PROFESSIONAL 
facilities for very accurate drawing construction and data extraction for post 
processing and Numeric Control (NC) 

All packages have explicit input prompts and messages, this together with 
INTERACTIVE HELP makes these systems easy to use and easy to learn. Some 
of the features included are:- 

* Geometric and schematic drawings * Properties of area 

* Tangents and intersects * Incractive TextSymbol FONT EDITOR 

' Drawing elements: lines, arcs, circles, text, symbols * Scale and units control 

* Filleting: between lines arcs and circles * Plotter and DNC user interlace 

' Zoom and pan * Mirror and Copy functions 

* Dimensioning: vertical, horizontal parallel, arrow * Profile/tool palh from drawing geometry 

* 14 decimal place accuracy * Tool radius compensation 

PRECISION CAD/CAM-PC - (£1650 with NC data Edilor ex. VAT) - HALVE THIS FOR 
EDUCATION 

EDUCAD - (£80 ex. VAT) ECONET NETWORK - £250 ex. VAT. 

EDUCNC - (£35 ex. VAT) ECONET NETWORK - £110 ex VAT 
EDUSOFT Lodge Hill, Sevens Road, Cannock Wood, Rugeley, Staffs, WS15 4RX 

TEL, 05436 76939 


'“Contex ' 

Bank Manager 

Advanced personal bank account management program for disc systoms 

Standard Bank Manager for BBC B and B v Cl 7.50 
Master Bank Manager for Master and Compact E22.50 
Archimedes Bank Manager E25.00 

Bank Manager Business Utilities 

Adds trial balance and Spreadsheet reports to Bank Manager systems 

for all Bank Manager versions (state which) £12.00 

Typing Tutor 

Teaches touch typing, 90 lessons, including motronome and audio koy click, rocommondod 

Version 1, cossotto only C12.50 
Version II, for BBC B,Bi, Master and Compact, disc only £12.50 
Archimedes version, disc only £15.00 

Shareware for Archimedes PC Emulator 

Suitable MS DOS software selected for the Arc PC Emulator 

Spreadsheet; 64x256 rows, sorting, many functions £7.50 
Word Processor; fast, easy, many functions, dictionary £7.50 
Database; 2 discs, many facilities, on-line help £15.00 
MS DOS Tutorial; Interactive learning £7.50 
Pinballs; 8 good pinball games on one disc £7.50 

All prices fully inclusive, free postage in UK 

Enquiries and Access orders ’phone 02303 347 

State: B. B r, Master, Compact. Archimedes and if 40tk 5.25", 601k 5.25“ or 3.5’ disc 

Contex Computing 

1 5 Woodlands Close, Cople, Bedford MK44 3UE 

J 



NEW 

maths 

package 


exploration of number patterns & chains 
includes easy-to-use software 
18 copyright-free pupil worksheets 
teacher’s booklet including topic ideas 
for ages 9 to 16 £18 (inclusive price) 


[SAMPLER DISCS Infant/Junior or IT 6 x 18p stamps" 

Somasoft 


please state whether Arc 
BBC 40T / BBC 80T / Nimbus 


Educational 

Software 


1, Lees Barn Road. Radcliffe- 
on-Trent. Notts NG12 2DT 
Phone (06073) 4120 


ADVANCED STATISTICAL SYSTEM 

For BBC Models B, B+, Master 128 and Archimedes 

FIRST 

Standard, Professional and Academic Features 

Fast, robust, accurate, interactive, modular. Full data management. Transforms, dummy 
variables, data subsets. Scatter & Normal prob. plots. Detailed Univariate Stats, t tests. 
Unrivalled regression facilities 

(Weighted, through the origin, standardised). Correlation matrix, ANOVAfor regression. 
Residuals, fitted values & confidence intervals. Contour plots from regression. Polynomial 
regression equation plots with confidence intervals. Advanced regression DIAGNOSTICS, 
VIF’s, influential points. 

Unique ROBUST regression. True NONLINEAR regression 

Two and Three-way ANOVA. Cluster analysis. Time Series & smoothing. Nonparametric 
methods. Distribution generators, Histograms, Chisquared tests. 

Specialised Linear Calibration. “Outlier" detection. Prinicpal components. 
Numerous other powerful options. 

Full utilities (data saving, dumps, printing, formating, etc.) Comprehensive Manual-full User 
Support. Special versions available for 3201 6 Co-processor and ACW. 

Price £90-£150 depending on features. Versions for Industry Standard PC s 
Full details from 

SERIOUS STATISTICAL SOFTWARE 

Lynwood, Bcnty Heath Lane, Willaston, S. Wirral L64 1SD. Tel: 051-327 4268 


ACORN USER 
ADVERTISEMENT PAGES 
-AUGUST 1988 


4Mation 

52 

Melton 

16 

Aeon Computer House 

58 

Micro General 

116 

Alpha Microtec 

27 

Micro-Media 

52 

Avon Computer Exchange 26 

Microaid 

24 

AVP Computing 

58 

Microboss 

24 

B & S Computing 

18 

Microman Computers 

68 

BBD Computer Dust Covers 70 

Micro Power 

31 

Beard Technology 

62 

Microstudio 

130 

Bcebug 

6,12,14 

Mijas Software 

132 

Brainsoft 

33 

Minerva Systems 

IBC 

C & F Associates 

110 

Mitre Software 

8 

Care Electronics 

108 

Morley Electronics 

20 

Centec 

32 

Meyers 

134 

Chalice Software 

118 

Nebulae 

108 

CJE Microcomputers 

60 

Oak Computers 23,25 

Clares Micro Supplies 

50,74 

P&H Electronics 

40 

Colton Software 

2 

Pineapple Software 

30 

Communitel 

130 

PMS 

25 

Comp Shop 

28 

RISC User 

6 

Computaccount 

104 

Saddler Computer Service 

56 

Computech 

70 

Selec Software 

70 

Computeck 

62 

Serious Statistical Software 

134 

Computer Concepts 

53 

Silicon Vision Ltd 

10 

Contex Computing 

134 

Solidisk 

132 

CSS 

132 

Somasoft 

134 

Dabs Press 

78 

Superior Software IFC,OBC 

Datastore 

51 

System Applied Technology 

51 

Digital Services Ltd 

30 

T-System 

62 

Edusoft 

134 

Technomatic 

34 

Ground Control 

30 

Telcmap 

5,27 

HCCS 

8 

Terrel Electronics 

51 

HCR Electronics 

118 

Tiger Software 

8 

Hi-Voltage 

1 

Trafford Computing 

33 

Impact Posters 

19 

Turbosoft 

27 

Imperial 

51 

Twillstar Computers 22,114 

Integrex 

66 

Unique Solution 

108 

Intelligent Interfaces 

24 

Viglen Computer Supplies 

63 

Leewood Developments 

24 

Vine Micros 

110 

Magenta Research 

130 

Voltmace 

42 

Martelec 

56 

We-Servc 

23 

Matmos 

62 

Whittle Systems 

56 

Mayhew Telonics 

58 

Wight Scientific 

24 

Meadow Computers 

52 

Wing Pass 

51 

Melford 

27 

Zone Four 

16 


134 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 



FREE ADS 


MASTER 128, green and colour 
monitor, 40/80T D/S drive, manuals, 
Plinth. All Immaculate, £600. Tel: 
Peterborough (0733) 72887. 

BBC B Shadow RAM, 4meg board, SWR 
(32kJ, 40T disc drive, many ROMs plus 
discs, £300 ono. Tel: (0323) 846298 
Eastbourne. 

ACORN Electron software for sale. 
Games include Plagger and lots more. 
Tel: Luton (0582) 667467 eves, ask for 
Richard. 

BBC B with 1770 DFS and ADFS, £250. 
2764 and 27128 EPROM programmer 
and EPROM eraser, £30. Tel: David, 
Edinburgh 031-447 1200. 

BBC B, single drive, SWR128 blank 
discs, games discs, joystick covers, £700 
(worth £1000). Tel: 01-556 7618. 

BBC B 40/80T DS drive, SWR, joysticks. 
Music 500, midi interface, WordWise 
various games, blank discs, dust cover, 
£350. Tel: (0272) 520013. 

CUMANA 40/80T 400k drive leads, 
manual, utilities, £65 ono. Printmaster 
ROM, £15. ViewSpell, £20. Dumpout 3 
ROM, £20. Satchel Desktop II 4-, £80. 
Tel: 01-805 1504. 

COMPACT Play it again Sam, gallery 
disc and new Advanced User Guide, 
never been used, £30. Tel: (0280) 
814261. 

BBC B, twin discs (DS/DD) Watford 
128k card, AMX mouse, joysticks, 
Philips monitor, 50 discs, books and 
extras, £500 ono. Tel: (0204) 76913. 

BBC B Issue 3, £150. Issue 7, with Acorn 
DFS, £250. Cumana 68008 upgrade, 512k 
RAM, software, £300. Tel: 01-460 
0280. 

BBC bits including Acorn teletext 
receiver, ATS ROM, original disc, ROM 
and tape software. Contact Dr. Wears, 
Manchester. Tel: 061-795 4567. 

MASTER 128 plus manuals. 40/80T 
DS/DD disc drive. InterWord ROM, 
many extras including £300 worth of 
software, £450 ono. Tel: (0482) 

505960. 

DUAL full height 80/40T drives; will 
exchange for single half height 80/40T or 
sell, £100. Tel: Warriner (0964) 

622274. 

BBC B Issue 7, dual disc drives, ROM 
board and 16k SWR, 1770 DD/FS, AMX 
mouse and Super Art software, joystick, 
boxed, £450. Tel: (0909) 482297. 
MASTER 128k with two d/drives, 
monitor, printer, joystick, mouse and 
software, includes ISO-Pascal and 
ViewStore, £550. Tel: (0274) 488604. 
BBC, £1800 worth of equipment, offers 
around £1000. Includes disc, printer, 
second processor, modem, ROMs, etc. 
Tel: (0724) 842953. 

EMR midi interface for BBC B, also 
performer, composer, editor discs (40T), 
boxed, all manuals included, £55. Tel: 
Mike (0202) 526062. 

EPSON FX80 printer, PMS multifont, 
Beebug toolkit, Watford DD/DFS, 
Acorn ADFS, Solidisk RTC 16 & 32k 
EPROM programmers, InterWord, 
Sharemaster. Tel: (0203) 410047. 

BBC B Issue 4, DNFS, OS. 1.2, Viglen 
console, cartridges, dual 40/80T, 
Microvitec 1431, InterWord, £425. Tel: 
021-329 2058 eves. 

BBC B, Watford DNFS, dual disc drives 
(80T), monitor. Acorn Z80 second 
processor, £600. Will split. Tel: (0256) 
63140 eves. 

BBC B, DFS, 40/80T DS/disc drive, 
4MHz 256, Stix, Tracker hall, lots of 
software, tons of mags and books, £400. 
Tel: Steve (0634) 404473 eves. 

BBC B, Opus DD/OS, 40/80T DS/DD 
drive, 1 6k SWR, Replay, Forth, specialist 

ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 


manuals, software, good condition, £400 
ono. Tel: (0628) 39738 eves. 

AMX Pagemaker, £18. DS/DD three 
drives and 30 discs, £35. Solidisk DFDC 
board, £20. Tel: (0324) 37040. 
GRAPHIC adventure creator, tape 
version. Original case, excellent 
condition with original manual, £18 ono. 
Tel: (0454) 415200 eves. 

CUMANA CS400 SOT disc drive, 
double-sided, own PSU, £60. Tel: 01-834 
2419 eves. 

BBC B OS 1 .2, data recorder, Oki 
microline-80 dot-matrix printer (80 
cps), joysticks. (Potcntinmeter), manuals, 
games and magazines, £290 ono. Tel: 
Andy (0225) 316969 eves. 

BBC Issue 7 twin SOT 256k SWR, Music 
500, software, books, RTC, joysticks, 
tape, may split, £500. Tel: (0384) 
288363. 

ATPL Sideways ROM board, £15. Disc 
Doctor ROM, £10. 6502 second 

processor, £60. Stardata-base ROM/disc, 
£15. Tel: (0233) 32787 eves. 

BBC micro, Torch Z80 co-processor, 
800k drives, 32k SWR, 30 books, 35 
discs, 80 tapes, £450 ono. Tel: (0264) 
87297. 

MASTER reference manual part 1, brand 
new, £10. Tel: Russ (0252) 702802 
(Elstead, Surrey). 

BRAND new Watford 3.5-inch double 
sided SOT disc drive, £60. Tel: 
Cheltenham (0242) 36992. 

ELECTRON Plus 1, AP4 interface, 
T2P4 copier, cassette recorder, £250 
worth of software/magazines/books, 
quick sale £80. Tel: (0276) 29937. 
WATFORD Word Aid still in box, £15. 
Original games, Castle Quest, Ian 
Bothams Test Match 5.25-inch discs, £5 
each. Graphic Writer for Archimedes, 
£15. Tel: 051-722 5799 eves. 
COMMUNICATOR ROM from 
Computer Concepts for VT100 
emulation, brand new, £50. Tel: 01-995 
8546. 

ACORN Electron good condition with 
games, mags, starter pack and books. All 
for only £35 ono. Tel: Edinburgh 
031-228 1947. 

BBC Master 128 DS 40/80T D/Drive, 
modem, Music 500, tape recorder, 
joystick, interface, many books, lots of 
software, £540 ono. Tel: (0322) 

527250. 

ELECTRON, Plus 3, discs, tapes, 
manuals, books, etc. VGC, £120 ono. 
Tel: (0703) 268328 eves. 

ORIGINAL BBC tapes, Superior, 
program power, Acornsoft, plus many 
others. Over 80 games, £40 ono. Tel: 


Wickford, Andrew (0268) 734458 

eves. 

SOLIDISK SWR 32k Issue 2; offers? 
Tel: (0759) 303536. 

MASTER, two drives, used for college 
project, no longer needed, £300 quick 
sale. Tel: (0532) 400728 ask for 

John-J. 

ACORN 6502 second processor, £75. 
Tel: Roger 061-799 9845 eves. 

BBC B Issue 4, Acorn DFS OS 1.2, 
bargain, £140 ono. Tel: (0454) 778324 
Winterbourne, Bristol. 

BBC B monitor, lead, joysticks, manuals, 
loads of games, no reasonable offer 
refused. Tel: Mark 01-642 1881. 
BARGAIN BBC B, DFS, OS 1.2 data 
recorder, manual, loads of games, 
joysticks, excellent condition, still boxed, 
£290 ono. Tel: 061-477 1545. 

BBC, 100k D/Drive, LX80 printer, 
mouse, Super Art, Pagemaker, video 
digitiser, 32k SWR, software, £40 ono. 
Tel: 01-850 9503, Daran. 

BBC B, Solidisk 2mg board, dual 40/80T 
disc drives, graduate unit, utility ROMs, 
CUB monitor, £475. Tel: (0706) 

852455. 

ELECTRON Plus 1, boxed, data 
recorder, double joysticks, leads, books, 
35 games on 13 tapes, two ROMs, £95. 
Tel: (0603) 871 598. 

BBC B with View, ISO Pascal (chip) 
sidewise 40/80T disc drive, games. Best 
offer over £400. Tel: Farnborough (0252) 
543144. 

64K ELECTRON, Plus 3, ROMbox + , 
32k SWR F00 DFS, T2P4 Elkman, 
arcade and adventure software tape/disc, 
£325 ono. Tel: 061-223 4113. 
NIGHTINGALE modem Commstar 2 
ROM, suit BBC B leads, £55. Prestel 
adaptor with ROM software, and leads, 
£50. Tel: Portsmouth (0705) 263632. 
EPSON RX80-F/T, £120 or £10 each. 
NLQ/ROM, TD ROM, AMX ROM, 
Contex s-shcct, Voltmacc s/ware4- 
interface, Hcrshey. WordWise Plus, £20. 
Tel: Mike, Crawley (0293) 515320. 
NIGHTINGALE modem with 
Commstar, as new, £80. Also DataGem 
ROM, new, £35. Tel: (0635) 63854 
anytime. 

SOLIDISK 4meg 256k board, £70. Pen 
Triend, WordWise Plus, Mini Office II, 
PrintWise, also many books, all half 
price. Tel: (0980) 24346. 

SHINWA CP80A printer with lead, £99. 
Also two 100k disc drives with dual lead, 
£60. Tel: Chorlcy (02572) 78286. 

BBC B 32k, £160. Dual d/sided SOT 
drives, £125. Z80 Torch, £105. 6502 
second processor, £69. B/W monitor, £45 


ono. Tel: (0634) 241237. 

ELECTRON 64k/32k turbo, £85. Plus I 
interface, £35. Slogger Pcg400 disc 
interface, £60, Joystick, £7. All 
boxed/new. Tel: (0272) 774642. 
ACORN Z80 second processor, all 
software and manuals, excellent 
condition, £165 including datapost 
delivery. Tel: Luton (0582) 412368. 
MODEM Pace, Linnet and Commstar 2, 
V21/V23 auto answering intelligent, with 
all manuals, as new, £95 ono. Tel: (051) 
342 5754. 

BBC B keyboard as new, £15. 40T disc 
drive and PSU, £50. Wanted, teletext 
adaptor. Write: 101 Sandbourne, 

Stavordale Road, Moreton, Wirral, L46 
9PT. 

ACORN prestel adaptor and ROM, no 
reasonable offer refused. Tel: Kelvin 
(0992) 467320 (Herts). 

WATFORD switchablc drive with PSU, 
£80 ono. RAMwise 2 ROM/RAM board, 
£22 ono. Oxford Pascal, £18. BCPL 
bundle, £18. Slave+, £14. Tel: Andrew 
(0265) 825025. 

CUMANA CS 100 40T SS disc drive 
with PSU, £70 ono. Tel: 01-517 
4679. 

ACORN Plus 1 expansion for Electron, 
£5. View, ViewShcet , ROM cartridge, 
£10 each. All as new with manuals. Tel: 
Holywell 714274. 

WATFORD 128k ROM/RAM, all 
extras, £50. Original Beeb monitor 12-in 
green, £50. STL case, remote keyboard, 
£25. Beeb keyboard, £35 ono (all VGC). 
Tel: 02302 4634. 

BBC B computer, DFS, 40/80T D/D, 
colour monitor, View word processor, 
Epson LX-800 printer, manuals, cables, 
etc. Tel: Portsmouth 826163. 

WANTED, manuals for Acorn Z80 
second processor, usually supplied with 
Z80 on purchase. Can you help? Tel: 
(0245) 267456 (Essex). 

WANTED BBC B Issue 7 in good 
condition with 80T disc drive, 1770 DFS. 
Tel: (0785) 58344 eves. 

WANTED Electron 64k SOT drive 
5.25-inch with PSU, very top prices paid. 
Tel: 01-950 9413. 

WANTED WordWise Plus, Word Aid, 
Spell Master, Pen Down, Logotron Logo. 
Tel: (0242) 584753. 

WANTED Facit 4560 user manual, also 
BBC B compatible interface controller 
board for Winchester drive. Tel: (0225) 
332746. 

WANTED BBC B or Master computer 
and dual disc drive, colour VDU and 
dot-matrix printer. School use, cash 
available. Tel: (0932) 564094. 


FREE PERSONAL AD SERVICE 

Fill in the form below to a maximum of 20 words (one in each box) and send it to Acorn UserVrcc Ads, 20-26 
Brunswick Place, London Nl 6DJ. Please use capital letters, write clearly, and remember your name, 
address and telephone number. Without this full information, supplied on a separate sheet of paper, we 
I regret we cannot carry your Free Ad. We cannot accept entries selling or swapping software. This is a 
service to readers - no companies please. One entry per form only. Free Ads are carried in the magazine as 
space permits, and any Free Ads not used within a month of receipt will be disposed of. 



135 




This month’s Abuser competi- 
tion centres around the Acorn 
User sixth birthday party, held 
at enormous expense on the 
office roof. Faces current and 
past (as in the pic on the left) 
drank freely and reminisced 
(alas Orson has been made 
promise not to tell). 

So, to win the collected liter- 
ary works of Alex van Someren 
(actually, a useful piece of 
Acorn User software) entrants 
must offer suggestions as to 
just what Mad Alex (left with 
ponytail) could have been 
saying to quizmaster emeritus 
Simon Dally and former in- 
habitant of the Redwood 
dungeon Kitty Milne. 


Tony Quinn and Graham Bell 
apply all their technical skill to 
finding the Econet jack on a 
long and unruly piece of cabl- 
ing. No-one dared tell them it 
was silly string. 


What do AU contributors do 
their spare time? Progi 


;rammer 
Dave Lawrence (in the middle) 
apparently writes sex education 
manuals reviewed in the Au- 
gust Times Ed. Fellow David 
Dave Acton (left) and technical 
Ed Rob Miller drank to his 
and their excess, g 1 


success 


Real Love. By I) Lawrence. 

D Lawrence Publications £1.99. 0 
9512585 0 8. 

Healthy Living, Healthy Loving. By 
Janie Hampton. 


Now we’ll never believe pro- 
duction assistant Colette Cur- 
ley, however much she swear: 
that she isn’t a wirehead. 


Macmillan with' TALC £1.95. 0 333 
43975 9. 


THE TIMES 

tonal Supplement 


Books on sex education and perso 
relationships for young people 
many different forms. Some. ’’ 
recent Diary of 
Freak , attempt 
lingo, while^^fl 
sober appro.;- 
cute eoj^/.V 


Sadly several guests wandered 
off never to be seen again. 
Among them were ad produc- 
tion person Jonathan Marsh 
(right), kidnapped by Design 
Week , and news editor Carol 
Atack (left) lured to Hi-Fi 
News with the promise of all 
the CDs she could eat. 


136 


ACORN USER AUGUST 1988 




‘Stop Press’ puts you right at the heart of the Desktop Publishing 
Revolution. Utilising dynamic WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You 
Get) facilities, ‘Stop Press’ makes it simple to create professional 
newsletters, leaflets, flyers, forms or in fact anything where text and 
graphics are required. 

‘Stop Press’ is the ideal publishing software solution for home 
enthusiasts, schools, societies and small businesses. 

== READ ALL ABOUT IT 

Documents may be prepared using any of the superb selection of type- 
faces (12 or more) supplied or alternatively a typeface of your own 
design. 

Text can be entered from within ‘Stop Press' or imported from your 
preferred word processor with fully automatic on-screen text formatting 
as the file loads. 

Centering, ragged right, and literal justification are all available. There 
also is full pixel resolution control over character size and spacing. 

-- - D8 # pmc DEsrmm 

As well as the ability to import digitised images there are outstanding 
facilities for drawing, spraying and painting using either the patterns 
supplied or your own pattern designs, enabling you to produce graphs, 
charts, diagrams and pictures. 

These can then be pasted, cropped or re-sized to fit any layout, and for 
those finishing touches a fantastic zoom is available. 


At anytime your pages can be previewed before being output to a wide 
range of Epson or compatible dot matrix printers. 

AMX MOUSE 

'Stop Press’ can be used with a joystick or keyboard but the AMX MK III 
Mouse gives you the control and flexibility which you would expect from 
the most accurate pointing device available. Produced in Switzerland 
the AMX Mouse has a unique patented design which includes high 
resolution movement (D.P.I.) and superior ball technology to ensure 
that contact between the 
Mouse and surface is 
constant at all times. 

EXTRA! EXTRA! 


Complimenting ‘Stop Press’, Extra! Extra! is a superb collection of 
ready made clip art and new typefaces covering a wide variety of 
subjects and styles. 


•STOP PRESS’ IS AVAILABLE FOR 

SOFTWARE 

ONLY 

WITH AMX 
MK. Ill MOUSE 

EXTRA! 

EXTRA! 

ACORN BBC/B + /MASTER 

£49.99 

£79.99 

£24.99 

AMSTRAD PCW 8256/8512 

£49.99 

£89.99 

— 

AMSTRAD CPC 6128 

£49.99 

£79.99 

£24.99 

COMMODORE 64/128 

£39.99 

£69.99 

- 


These superb products are available from all good computer dealers or 
direct by cheque, Access or Visa. All prices include VAT, postage and 
packing. Becomeyourown publishing baron with ‘Stop Press’ and start 
the presses rolling. 




ADVANCED 


ADVANCED MEMORY SYSTEMS LIMITED 

Imagination at your fingertips 

FOR INSTANT ACCESS OR VISA ORDERS TELEPHONE: (0925) 4 1 3501 1 

EMORY SYSTEMS LIMITED 166-170 WILDERSPOOL CAUSEWAY. WARRINGTON W A 4 6 Q A . 
TELEPHONE: (0925) 413501 TELEX: 628672 AMS G FAX: 0925 58039 

TUBEUNK ON MICRONET 800 •TUBELINK § SUPPORTS THE AMX MOUSE AND ALL AMS SOFTWARE 



The Ultimate Warrior 


NOW AVAILABLE FOR: 

BBC MICRO 
ELECTRON 


BARBARIAN 

The Ultimate Warrior 
©Palace Software, 1987 
MADE UNDER LICENCE 


A bout of 
Mortal Combat 


The Victorious 
Gladiator 


Nearing the End of 
a Ferocious Battle 


Under the Gaze of 
Drax and Mariana 


THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR • THE ULTIMATE GAME 


At last, BARBARIAN, the most realistic and exciting of 
sword-fighting games reaches the BBC Micro and 
Electron. 

One or two players-fight against the computer or a 
friend. 


BBC Micro Cassette £9.95 Acorn Electron Cassette £9.95 

BBC Micro 5Vi" Disc £11.95 BBC Master Compact 3V2" Disc £14.95 

(Compatible with the BBC B, B+ and Master Series computers) 

Please make cheques payable to “Superior Software Ltd”. 


The evil sorcerer Drax has abducted the beautiful 
Princess Mariana to satiate his nefarious desires. 

A powerful warrior is sought to vanquish against 
Drax’s demonic guardians and free the princess? 
You are that warrior: a mighty barbarian wielding 
your broadsword with deadly skill. 


PRIZE COMPETITION 

£100 is the first prize in our competition, with 20 congratulatory 
certificates for runners-up. 

To enter the competition, you must complete the game and write 
to us describing the final messages that you receive. 

Closing Date: 30th September, 1988. 



/ summon 
sonujnnc 


ACORNS® FT 


Depf. B7, Regent House, Skinner Lane, Leeds LS7 1 AX. Telephone: 0532 459453 



(»At.AC£ ttorY&nna 



24 HOUR TELEPHONE 
ANSWERING SERVICE FOR ORDERS